Yixing (China): Eight people were killed, and 17 others injured in a knife attack at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Yixing, Jiangsu province, eastern China, on Saturday evening, news agency AFP reported.

The accused, a 21-year-old former student of the school, was arrested, local police confirmed.

Authorities revealed that the suspect, who failed to graduate this year due to poor exam performance, returned to the campus to "express his anger" through the attack.

The ex-student has reportedly confessed to the crime.

Emergency services sprang into action in Yixing to treat the injured and offer support to those impacted by the attack, police stated.

While violent knife attacks are not uncommon in China due to strict firearm regulations, incidents with such a high death toll remain rare.

The attack comes amid a surge in violent crimes in China.

Earlier this week, a 62-year-old man killed 35 people and injured over 40 others by driving his SUV into a crowd in Zhuhai.

In October, a knife attack in a Shanghai supermarket claimed three lives and injured 15 others.

In September, a Japanese schoolboy was fatally stabbed in Shenzhen, near the Hong Kong border.