BEIJING —  Men wielding knives and batons attacked employees at an arcade in southwest China in a brawl that left five dead and two injured, a state-run newspaper said Tuesday.

The melee was triggered Sunday night at the Milky Way Express arcade in Chongqing, 900 miles southwest of Beijing, after two men argued with the arcade manager, the China Daily reported. It did not say what the disagreement was about.

The argument escalated into violence when 20 armed men swarmed the premises and attacked the staff, the paper said, citing witnesses.

Five employees were killed, it said. Two other people were injured, the paper said without giving details.

The incident was unusually savage for China, where violent street crime is rare.

It was not immediately clear who the 20 men were or what happened to them, but witnesses said it appeared to be gang related, the paper said. An investigation was under way.

Telephone calls to the Chongqing police station were not answered Tuesday. The arcade's number was not listed.

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