Police cars blocked the road leading to Tiananmen, as black smoke rose from the burned car.
`I saw a car suddenly turn while walking on the sidewalk. Everything happened very quickly, it seemed like it crashed into people,` AFP quoted a witness as saying.
Southern Metropolis Daily quoted Francesca, an injured female tourist from the Philippines, recounting: `I heard a loud car horn but when I noticed it, it was too late. My mind was completely blank. When I woke up, I
NY Times quoted witnesses as saying that the SUV suddenly turned onto the sidewalk along Truong An Avenue and rushed toward the south gate of the Forbidden City.
A foreign tourist described a quiet scene and many people lying motionless on the sidewalk, just a few minutes after the incident.
Panicked bystanders surrounded a baby injured by an SUV.
Immediately, a busy subway station nearby was closed.
Hours later, many tourist groups were still waiting in frustration for this area to reopen.
A 58-year-old Italian tourist said he was visiting the Forbidden City when security guards appeared and asked everyone to leave.
Photos shared on Chinese social networks showed the sports utility vehicle (SUV) burning, with columns of smoke rising high.
Streets leading to the square were blocked off and barricades were erected around the scene.
Beijing police’s Weibo page announced the incident that killed five people, including the driver of the car and two people accompanying him, a tourist from the Philippines and one person in Guangdong province, southern China.
Three Filipino tourists and one Japanese were among the 38 injured.
Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said she did not know `specific details` when asked if there was any evidence that this was a terrorist attack.
The Forbidden City, which welcomes 14 million tourists each year, has witnessed many deadly incidents.