Several dead in stabbing in West Germany

People were killed and injured in an attack on a folk festival in Solingen on Friday, the news agency dpa reported. It was initially unclear how many victims there were.

The Solinger Tageblatt reported that the authorities had asked people to leave Solingen city centre. One of the festival organisers, Philipp Müller, said on stage that rescue workers were fighting for the lives of nine people.

The dpa report cites unnamed police sources who say the weapon used was probably a knife and that no one has been arrested yet. The attack took place in a central square, the Fronhof.

The celebration of the city's 650th anniversary began on Friday and was scheduled to last until Sunday.

Solingen has about 160,000 inhabitants and is located near the major cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf.