A motorcycle reportedly carrying a homemade bomb detonated near an elementary school in China, killing at least two and injuring 44.
The three-wheeled motorbike exploded at about 7 a.m. local time, just as students were making their way into Balijie Primary School in the resort city of Guilin, a town of the southern region of Guangxi Zhuang.
According to China's Xinhua News Agency, a man and woman were killed from the blast. They believed the man was the bomber-witnesses told authorties they'd seen the man riding the same motorcycle past the school when the explosion happened.
Of the 44 people injured, 11 were in critical condition, and at least 10 were children.
Officials reported that the bomb caused about 12 other motorbikes to fly around the crash site. Windows of nearby vehicles and businesses were blown out.
Some classrooms were damaged as well-classes for that day were suspended.
A woman who owned a nearby shop reported that a student was buying something when the blast suddenly ripped through the vicinity.
"The student asked me to get the notebooks," the woman, whose surname was Qin, told Xinhua. "I was just turning around when it exploded and window glass shattered everywhere."
Another witness relayed details of the terrifying event.
"First, the motorcycle caught fire and then exploded with a tremendous noise that could be heard from far, far away," they said.
A police officer working nearby the site of the blast told the Associated Press that an extensive investigation would follow.