Seven people have been injured after a man attacked passengers on a train in Switzerland with 'fire and a knife'.

Swiss police have confirmed the train has been sealed off an it is understood the county's interior minister is holding an emergency meeting over the incident.

The man set the train carriage on fire using a flammable liquid and also stabbed passengers, including a six-year-old child, police said.

Police say the suspect, who is fighting for his life after setting also setting himself on fire, is a 27-year-old Swiss national who is not of immigrant origin and does not have a criminal record.

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A 27-year-old man went on a stabbing spree and set a train, pictured, on fire in Switzerland

Seven people, including a six-year-old child, were injured in the attack, and have all been taken to hospital as emergency services remain at the scene (pictured)

Police, pictured, from nearby St Gallen are investigating but have yet to establish a motive

Clean-up crews are now at the station after emergency services took the victims and offender to hospital, with the latter in 'critical condition'

The attack, in which some have sustained 'serious injuries', happened near Salez-Sennwald Train Station on the line between Buchs and Sennwald at around 2.20pm.

Five people were stabbed or burnt while another man suffered smoke inhalation as he came to the aid of the others.

The offender, a 27-year-old Swiss citizen, carried out the attack on a train travelling in Switzerland's far east, along its border with Liechtenstein.

A statement said: 'According to current information a 27-year-old Swiss man poured out a flammable liquid. He was also armed with at least one knife. The liquid caught fire.'

Reports in Switzerland suggest a 17-year-old girl and two women aged 34 and 43 were injured while a 17-year-old boy and 50-year-old man were also hurt.

The assailant remains in police custody but is said to be 'unresponsive' due to his injuries, police said.

According to website watson.ch, the head of the local police media team said the offender was 'on fire' when he was apprehended, and added he had a 'typical Swiss name'.

Bruno Metzger of the St Gallen cantonal police said the attack could be a 'crime of passion', adding: 'A terrorism background still seems very, very far-fetched.'

So far a 17-year-old girl, 17-year-old boy, 50-year-old man and two women aged 34 and 43 have been confirmed among the wounded

The offender has been confirmed as being a Swiss national and is said to have used a 'flammable liquid' to set the carriage on fire

Reports in Switzerland have suggested that the attack was 'not terror-related'

The train was carrying dozens of passengers and the carriage was reportedly left covered in blood as the wounded were treated at the scene before being taken to hospital.

Police are still establishing the attacker's motive. Switzerland's 20 Minuten newspaper reported on its website that police did not believe the incident was terrorist-related.

It is the latest in a series of similar attacks in Europe over the past month, including a 17-year-old injuring five people with an axe and knife on a train in Wurzburg, Germany, in July.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack and later released footage of the 17-year-old axeman, named as Muhammad Riyad, being gunned down by armed police after fleeing the scene.

Police said the offender was 'on fire' when they apprehended him at the station, pictured

Investigators are examining the train and station, pictured, and the offender is said to be in a serious condition himself after being wounded during the attack

The attack took place at around 2.30pm this afternoon near Salez-Sennwald Station (pictured)

A massive contingent of rescue workers rushed to the scene, including police, firefighters, ambulances and three rescue helicopters.

The Salez station remains closed, and police said replacement buses had been set up.

Saint Gallen prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the attack.