(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-14 16:09

Police in Central China arrested a man suspected of throwing six children out the third storey of a school building, killing one girl and injuring the others, local media said on Friday.

The incident occurred on Thursday morning in Hongqiao Town, Hunan Province, with the suspect grabbing the 8 and 9-year-old boys and girls as they lined up in a hallway and tossing them out a window, Beijing News reported.

One girl was pronounced dead at the scene while the others were rushed to hospital, it said. One of the boys was able to grab part of a tree as he fell, breaking his fall and reducing his injury.

According to the paper, the suspect, identified as Kuang Xi, 28, had a history of mental illness.

No other details were given as to how Kuang got into the building or if he has links to the school.