The death toll from a horrific rampage by a knife-wielding mob at a railway station has risen to 33 as China blamed ethnic separatists for the “terrorist attack”.

The militant East Turkestan Islamic Movement organised the suicide vehicle attack that killed five people in the heart of Beijing this week, China’s most senior security official said.

Unlicensed welders were detained by police in China today after a blaze engulfed a high-rise apartment building under renovation in Shanghai, killing 53 people and injuring more than 70 others.

At least two people have been killed in fresh clashes between Tibetan protesters and Chinese police.