An attacker has stabbed 11 children at a nursery school in southern China, injuring five of them seriously, officials said.

The suspect "sneaked into" the school and stabbed 11 children, a statement from the Pingxiang city government's information office said. Five have serious injuries.

Police rushed to the scene and detained the suspect and rushed the children to hospital.

No child had life-threatening injuries, the city government said.

The statement did not say what weapon was used.

In recent years China has had several incidents of attackers entering schools and stabbing children, mostly carried out by people with vendettas against society.

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