Police in Switzerland say a Swiss man started a fire and stabbed people on a train in the country’s north-east, wounding six people as well as himself.

Police in the canton of St Gallen say the incident happened at 2.20pm local time (1.20pm BST) Saturday afternoon as the train neared the station in Salez, near the border with Liechtenstein. They say the 27-year-old suspect had at least one knife and poured out a flammable liquid, which caught fire.

Police say the wounded included a six-year-old child, three women aged 17, 34 and 43, and two men aged 17 and 50. Some of the injuries were said to be serious but there were no further details immediately.

Switzerland’s 20 Minuten newspaper reported on its website that police did not believe the incident was terrorism-related. Bruno Metzger of the St Gallen cantonal police said in an interview with welt.de that a crime of passion was one possibility. “A terrorism background still seems very, very far-fetched,” he said. The assailant was in police custody, he said, but none of those injured – including the assailant – was responsive, so they could not yet be questioned.

In addition to a large police presence, the local fire department responded along with three rescue helicopters, two emergency doctors, three ambulances and railway authorities. According to a preliminary estimate, the train suffered 100,000 Swiss francs (£80,000) worth of damage.

In July a refugee from Afghanistan attacked four tourists on a German train, then stabbed a woman as he fled from the train. All survived. Police shot and killed the attacker.

Last September, a heavily armed gunman was overpowered by two young American soldiers and their companion before he could launch an attack on a high-speed Amsterdam-Paris train.

