British police say 10 people have been taken to hospitals after a mass stabbing attack on a London-bound train, nine of them with life-threatening injuries.
In a statement early on Sunday, hours after the attack, British Transport Police also said the incident has been declared a “major incident” and that counter-terrorism police are supporting the investigation.
“Ten people have been taken to hospital with nine believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries,” it said.
“This has been declared a major incident and Counter Terrorism Policing are supporting our investigation whilst we work to establish the full circumstances and motivation for this incident.”
Two men have been arrested over the stabbings on the train near Cambridge in eastern England, in what Prime Minister Keir Starmer called an “appalling incident”.
Armed officers were seen entering the train, which stopped at Huntingdon, in videos posted on social media. One eyewitness told Sky News that one of the suspects, waving a large knife, was tasered by police.
Witnesses described seeing a man with a knife, and passengers hiding in the toilets to escape the rampage, The Times reported. One witness told the paper there was “blood everywhere” and people were getting “stamped” on by others as they tried to flee.
“I heard some people shouting ‘We love [you]’,” the witness said.
Another passenger heard a man with a bloody arm shout “they’ve got a knife, run”, the BBC reported. The witness told the broadcaster that he, and a friend, ran to the front of the train and saw a man collapsed on the floor.
Cambridgeshire police said they were called after reports that multiple people had been stabbed. “Armed officers attended and the train was stopped at Huntingdon, where two men were arrested. A number of people have been taken to hospital,” the police said in a statement.
The East of England Ambulance Service said it mobilised a large-scale response to Huntingdon Railway Station, which included numerous ambulances and critical care teams, including three air ambulances.
“We can confirm we have transported multiple patients to hospital,” it said.
Starmer posted on X that the incident was “deeply concerning”. “My thoughts are with all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services for their response,” he said.
Paul Bristow, the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said he had heard of “horrendous scenes” on the train.
(Reuters an AP)
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