People killed and wounded after ‘knife assault’ at competition in Germany

People were killed and injured in an attack at a festival in the Germany city of Solingen in western Germany on Friday, the news agency dpa has reported.

It was not immediately clear how many casualties there were. 

A man is reported to have randomly stabbed passers-by with a knife, and is currently still on the run. 

The town festival has since been cancelled, as emergency services have been seen arriving at the scene of the attack, while a police helicopter has been seen circling above the cordoned-off area. 

Special forces units from all over North Rhine-Westphalia are on their way to Solingen.

It is understood that roads crossings have been closed and residents are being asked to stay in their homes.  

Police and ambulances near the scene where people were killed and injured in an attack on Friday at a festival in Solingen, western Germany, the German dpa news agency reported

It was not immediately clear how many casualties there were

The local Solinger Tagblatt newspaper reported that authorities told people to leave downtown Solingen and that one of the festival organisers, Philipp Muller, said on a stage that emergency workers were fighting for the lives of nine people. 

The dpa report cited unidentified police sources as saying the weapon was believed to be a knife and no arrests have been made yet.

The festival marking the city’s 650th anniversary began on Friday and was supposed to run until Sunday.

Solingen has around 160,000 inhabitants and is located near the bigger cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf.

More to follow.