A woman injured five people with a knife on Friday evening while on a bus on its way to a city festival in Germany.

The stabbing attack took place at around 7.40pm local time (6.40pm BST) on Freiengründer Strasse in Eiserfeld, part of the Siegen-Wittgenstein district in North Rhine-Westphalia.

At the time of the incident, at least 40 people, including children, were on the bus going from Neunkirchen to Siegen.

Local news outlet Siegener Zeitung reported that three of the casualties were in life-threatening condition.

Police officers, who rushed to the scene amid reports of a “mass casualty incident” at around 7.50pm local time (6.40pm BST), arrested a suspect, described by Presse Portal as a 32-year-old woman.  

Siegener Zeitung reported the suspect didn’t resist the arrest. 

The crime scene has been cordoned off by officers, and Dortmund Police are leading the investigation into the incident. 

Police said there was no immediate evidence the stabbing attack was a terror-related incident.

They said in a statement: “We ask citizens not to spread false information on social networks or other channels, and especially not to make any reference to a terrorist attack. The police have no information on this.”

They added there was no longer any “danger to the public”. 

Local district administrator Andreas Müller arrived at the scene of the stabbing and told local media he was “shocked” by the incident, particularly as it seemed to have impacted people who were out celebrating.