A man believed to be armed with an axe has left four people injured after allegedly attacking passengers onboard a high speed train carrying 500 people in Germany.
Officers said the incident took place on the ICE 91 train heading towards Vienna, Austria at around 1.55pm local time.
Emergency services including police and the fire service have been deployed to the scene.
The attacker is believed to be a Syrian, according to German newspaper BILD.
The man was allegedly carrying an axe and a hammer.
It is understood that some passengers pulled the train’s emergency brake after the attack – bringing the train to a halt.
Eyewitnesses said a passenger stole one of the weapons to stop the attacker.
According to the Bavarian Red Cross, one person suffered serious injuries, three others were “moderately injured” and one was “slightly injured”.
A police spokesman confirmed that a man “injured several people with dangerous objects shortly before Straßkirchen” this afternoon.
The alleged-axe attacker was said to have been seriously injured and flown to hospital by helicopter.
Bavarian Red Cross spokesman Sohrab Taheri-Sohi told BILD: “As a result of a violent incident on an ICE train, a major emergency service and disaster control operation was initiated.
“According to current information, several people were injured as a result of the violent incident: One person suffered serious injuries, three others were moderately injured, and another person was slightly injured.”
A spokesman for the German train company Deutsche Bahn said: “Our thoughts and sympathy are with the injured and all those who now have to come to terms with what they have experienced.
“We wish all those affected a speedy and full recovery.”
