A group of knife-wielding assailants attacked civilians on Friday morning on a street in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province. Photo: sina.com

Six people are dead after a vendor in a vegetable market in the Kaifu district of Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, started an argument which spilled out onto the streets, resulting in the deaths of another vendor and several passersby, according to the local police.

The official microblog of Changsha Police said that the incident took place at 10:15 when a fight broke out between two vendors, which led to one vendor being fatally stabbed.

The perpetrator fled the scene and randomly attacked four more people in the nearby vicinity, of which two people died at the scene. Police arrived shortly afterwards and shot the attacker dead. The remaining victims were sent to hospital but died as a result of their injuries.

Police officers have cordoned off the site and a nearby primary school has been closed.

A group of knife-wielding assailants attacked civilians on Friday morning on a street in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province. Photo: weibo.com

A group of knife-wielding assailants attacked civilians on Friday morning on a street in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province. Photo: weibo.com