At least 17 people have been left injured following a knife attack at Hamburg Central Station on Friday evening, police have said.
A 39-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with the incident, which took place on platforms 13 and 14 of the busy railway hub.
Authorities initially reported eight casualties, but later clarified that three people are in critical condition, three are seriously injured, and six others suffered minor wounds.
Some of the victims were treated on board trains, according to German newspaper BILD.
Officers cordoned off the area around the station and rail traffic was suspended.
“There is currently a major police operation in #Hamburg on #Hauptbahnhof!” Hamburg police said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“We are investigating the background and will provide further information here shortly.”
Dozens of police officers and paramedics were seen at the scene. One victim was photographed being taken away on a stretcher.
The motive behind the attack, which occurred just after 6pm local time in front of a train waiting at the station, is not yet known, although officials believe the suspect acted alone.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the incident as shocking and said that his “thoughts are with the victims and their families”.
He offered local mayor Peter Tschentscher the support of the federal government.
Up to 450,000 travellers pass through Hamburg's Central Station every day, making one of the most frequented passenger railway stations in Germany.
The attack comes just days after a separate knife incident in the Netherlands, where two people were killed and two police officers injured.
Emergency services were called to a property in Hoofddorp, near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, on Wednesday morning.
One police vehicle at the scene was reportedly spattered with blood.
