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, northwest of Cambridge, 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.
LNER later said some lines remained closed Sunday and some services could be canceled or delayed.
LNER Managing Director David Horne said in an update Sunday morning that they were “shocked and saddened” by the attack, and thanked emergency services for their quick response.
“The safety and wellbeing of everyone affected will remain our priority,” Horne said. “We will continue to do everything we can to support our customers and colleagues during this difficult time.”
British Transport Police 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. Huntingdon is about 77 miles north of London.
Dennis Romero reported from San Diego and Jamie Gray from London.
Rebekah Daunt contributed.
