China's top leaders have urged "all-out efforts" to treat those injured in a car attack in southern China, one of the deadliest incidents in the country's recent history, as online posts asking what the attack says about Chinese society were censored.

Authorities said 35 people have been killed and 43 injured after a car crashed into the crowd outside Zhuhai Sports Centre in the southern province of Guangdong on Monday

The driver was apprehended as he tried to flee, local authorities said, adding that an initial investigation suggested he was resentful over a divorce settlement.