Several people have suffered life-threatening injuries in a knife attack at the main railway station in the German city of Hamburg, police have said.

The city's fire department said 12 people were injured in the attack, but police later said there were no reliable figures for the number of victims.

Hamburg Police said officers arrested a 39-year-old woman and a major operation is under way.

The attack is understood to have happened at the city's Central Station at about 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT) on Friday.

A spokesman for the Hamburg fire department told AFP news agency that 12 people had been injured and that some of the injuries were life-threatening.

In a post on X, Hamburg Police said there were no reliable figures for the number of people injured but several have sustained life-threatening injuries.

"According to initial findings, a person allegedly injured several people with a knife in the main station," the police said.

Police later added that they believe the suspect acted alone.

Local media has reported that the attack happened near platforms 13 and 14 - which are accessible via a busy main road - while a train was on one of the platforms.

Some of the victims were treated inside trains, according to reports.

German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said four platforms at the station were closed and some services would experience delays and diversions.

Pictures from the scene show a number of emergency service personnel and vehicles on the ground, and barriers that seem to be hiding the injured from public view.

One photograph used by German media shows a man being taken away by paramedics on a stretcher.

A video on social media appears to show the suspect with her hands behind her back being escorted out of the station platform by officers who put her in a police vehicle.

Hamburg Central Station is one of Germany's busiest transport hubs, with more than 550,000 travellers per day according to its website. It is often crowded during Friday rush hour.

This is the latest in a series of violent attacks in Germany in recent months.

(BBC)

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