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A knifeman was on the loose after three children were stabbed at a department store in the centre of a busy shopping district.

Dutch media are reporting a major emergency services presence in The Hague, the Netherlands, and videos posted on social media show a cordon in place.

This comes after two people were killed in a knife attack on London Bridge earlier today.

At 8.53pm, pictures circulating on Twitter showed police apprehended a man and placed him in handcuffs.

A picture shows multiple police officers restraining a man on the floor on the edge of the cordon. And witnesses report a knife has been secured by police.

However, Hague police tweeted at 9.20pm that "we are still looking for the suspect".

At 9.52pm, the latest from police is that all three of the victims were minors and officers are in contact with their families.

As of 10.57pm, Hague police said: "All three victims of the stabbing have been released from hospital."

The hunt for the attacker is ongoing. Dutch news site De Telegraaf reports the knifeman is still a fugitive.

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“We are at this moment searching for a suspect, no one has been arrested yet,” police spokeswoman Marije Kuiper told reporters at 10 p.m.

Kuiper said police did not yet have a description of the suspect, but she said an initial police statement that he was a man in his 40s of North African descent had been wrong.

“At this moment all scenarios are still open,” she said.

It is not yet clear if the stabbing was a terror incident.

National broadcaster NOS said the attack could not immediately be attributed to terrorism.

NOS, quoting "varied sources", said: "At this moment there is no indication of a terrorist motive."

Local media reports the victims seem to have been chosen at random.

The shopping area in The Hague was packed with shoppers for Black Friday .

A woman told De Telegraaf that "nobody knew what was going on" at first and there were fears of a shooting.

It's not clear how bad the injuries were but De Telegraaf reported the victims were "talking".

(Image: Sebastiaan Barel)

Pictures from the area showed several dozen onlookers behind police fencing seeking a glimpse of the area where the stabbing happened.

Hague police initially said they were hunting a north African man aged between 45 and 50-years-old, with black curly hair, wearing a shawl, a black jacket and grey tracksuit.

But they have since stated that description was wrong - but did not provide any further information.

Dutch police confirmed at 8.05pm that three people were injured and they appealed for any witnesses or footage.

(Image: SEM VAN DER WAL/EPA-EFE/REX)

Reports suggest the knife attack took place at a Hudson's Bay store.

Police and multiple ambulances, including an air ambulance, are responding.

The location of the attack was said to be Marktstraat street in central Hague.

(Image: ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

One Twitter user tweeted: "Several ambulances have been called to the department store. At least three people were taken out of the store injured. The perpetrator is still being searched for."

The attacker fled the scene.

A police helicopter is flying overhead in the hunt for the attacker.

(Image: SEM VAN DER WAL/EPA-EFE/REX)

Maaike Kraaijeveld tweeted: "Shop staff who were trapped in the Grote Marktstraat stores are leaving the police under supervision."

She tweeted a video -

She said they looked "shocked" and were leaving a Hudson's Bay store.

She later tweeted a video which she claimed shows a bag with what looks like a weapon being removed.

Grote Marktstraat is one of the most important shopping areas in the centre of The Hague, in the north west of the Netherlands.

Reuters news agency reports: "Several people have been injured in a stabbing incident in The Hague's main shopping street, Dutch police said.

(Image: ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

"Police said in a tweet Friday evening that the incident happened in the city's main shopping street.

"Further details were not immediately available."

At 8.24pm, Dutch police said they were carrying out extensive investigations into the stabbing and this would take time.

They promised to release further reports via Twitter as soon as they know more.