LONDON — Ten people were injured in a stabbing attack on a train that connects London to North East England on Saturday night, authorities said.
Nine suffered life-threatening injuries while a 10th victim was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, British Transport Police said in a statement early Sunday.
“There have been no fatalities,” the agency said.
U.K.’s Counter Terrorism Policing, an agency that includes participation from the 43 police forces of England and Wales as well as contributions from police in Scotland and Northern Ireland, is assisting with the investigation led by transport police, it said.
Transport police said it hopes to discover the “full circumstances and motivation” for the attack, which was “declared a major incident.”
“At this early stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident,” Transport Police Chief Superintendent Chris Casey said in the statement.
Police and medics rushed to a station in Huntingdon, where the train was stopped following a report of stabbings at 7:42 p.m. GMT (3:42 p.m. ET), according to transport police and social media video of the aftermath.
Cambridgeshire Police, which patrols the area, arrested two people at the scene, authorities said. Any allegations against them were not given.
An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said it received reports of the attack a minute earlier and transported “multiple patients” to a medical facility.
Its response included numerous ambulances, tactical commanders, a hazardous response team, and two helicopters used to transport patients, the spokesperson said.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the violence “appalling” and “deeply concerning” and said, “My thoughts are with all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services for their response.”
The London North Eastern Railway (LNER) issued a “Do Not Travel” alert for the line, saying train service has been disrupted and those with immediate plans to use it should “defer your travel where you can” and book new seat reservations.
Buses were initially offered for travel between London and points north, including Huntingdon, 77 miles north of the capital, and Peterborough, 22 miles north of Huntingdon, the railway said. The line through Huntingdon would be out of service until at least 5 a.m. GMT on Sunday, LNER said.
“We are aware of an incident involving one of our trains,” the line, one of England’s four major railways, said. “Our immediate concern is for the welfare of our customers and crew who are on board. We are in the process of gathering all the details we can and are liaising with British Transport Police.”
That agency said the train was amid 6:25 p.m. GMT (2:25 p.m. ET) service from Doncaster, about 100 miles northwest of Huntingdon, to London King’s Cross when the attacks took place.
The A1307, a country highway Cambridgeshire that leads to the center of Huntingdon, was also closed amid the investigation into the attack, Cambridgeshire Police said.
Dennis Romero reported from San Diego and Jamie Gray from London.
