A police officer shot dead his wife and two young children at a French railway station today before turning his pistol on himself.

The bloodbath took place at Noyon, 70 miles north of Paris, after the unnamed man 'snapped' while standing on a platform, soon after 11am.

Virginie Girard, the local prosecutor, confirmed: 'The perpetrator of these murders is a police officer assigned to the police headquarters in Paris.

'He could not take it when his wife said she was going to leave him.'

An armed police officer stands outside Noyon train station in northern France where a police officer has shot dead his wife and two children aged between three and five

A witness has described hearing four gunshots as he made up the stairs of a platform at Noyon train station, northern France

A forensic police officer works in a cordoned-off safety perimeter set by Gendarmes as police investigate the crime scene

A cordoned-off perimeter set by Gendarmes is pictured on a platform of the railway station where the shooting took place this morning

Ms Girard confirmed there were 'four deaths - two children and their parents', who all died at the scene.

She ruled out terrorism, saying the incident was being investigated as a 'domestic drama', involving suicide.

The twin of the dead five-year-old survived the attack, along with their two other siblings, who stayed with extended family.

'There was the sound of automatic gunfire, and then the man was standing over his family,' said a source close to the case.

'He seemed to have snapped before the attack, and when it was over he shot himself so as to commit suicide.'

Another witness told local media: 'I climbed the stairs leading to the platforms when I heard shots.

'I saw four bodies on the ground. I then took a little girl with me to put her in safety.

'There was a black automatic pistol on the ground. With a passerby, we ran. I was afraid that the man on the ground would wake up and start shooting again.'

Police cordoned off Noyon train station in Oise after the policeman opened fire on his family soon after 11am today

The gunman committed suicide after killing his wife and two of his children. The other three survived the attack. Public prosecutor Virginie Girard confirmed he was an officer working in Paris

The shooting took place at Noyon train station in the northern French town of Oise

This afternoon the station had been shut down as forensics officers combed the crime scene for clues. No trains were stopping.

The couple, from the greater Paris area, had been heard arguing earlier in the morning, with gendarmes called to their home.

The wife was then seen by neighbours taking their five young children to stay with family in Guiscard, north of Noyon.

They were pursued by the policeman husband, who was trying to take the whole family back to Paris just before the shootings.

The policeman is believed to have killed his wife after she told him she was going to leave him

The unnamed man 'snapped' while standing on a platform, soon after 11am at the railway station 70 miles north of Paris

A third adult, who was standing next to the couple during the incident, was seen running away, and gendarmes were still looking for him on Sunday evening.

He is believed to have been a neighbour of the couple who had agreed to 'look after' the wife and children as they tried to escape the husband.

French police and the military regularly report suicides by officers using service weapons, and have made repeated efforts to stop such tragedies.

All those using guns are subject to regular psychological assessments, and efforts are made to stop ammunition being stored at home.

The family of four were shot dead on one of the train station's platforms, according to an eye-witness