One person has died and at least nine others are injured after a knife attack in the suburbs of the French city of Lyon.

Officials have confirmed several people were attacked as they waited for a bus near the Laurent-Bonnevay metro station in Villeurbanne, to the east of the city, shortly after 4:30pm local time (3:30pm BST).

Of the nine people injured, three are in a critical condition. The one fatality was a 19-year-old man, reportedly from the nearby Isère region.

A man, who was armed with a knife and a large meat fork, has since been arrested after attempting to flee to the nearby metro station.

Video footage from the scene appears to show pedestrians attempting to talk to the man, who threw his weapons to the ground before being apprehended.

Police have since confirmed the man to be a 33-year-old from Afghanistan, who is currently seeking asylum. While he has provided contradictory information to the authorities, the attack is not believed to be terror related, according to two French officials approached by Associated Press.

Meanwhile police officers and a force helicopter are believed to have since called off the hunt for a second suspect, who was initially reported to have fled the scene.

Officers are still considering the possibility the man may have had an accomplice, and are currently unsure as to the motive behind the incident.

Some 50 firefighters have attended the scene along with a RAID unit of specialist tactical police. The nation's counter-terror office, who had been monitoring the situation, has not been asked to participate in the investigation.

Lyon mayor Gerard Collomb said: "I am extremely shocked by the attack that has just occurred in the Lyon area during which one person died and several others injured, some seriously.

"Being nearby, I went immediately to share my support for the victims, transport workers and the police and relief forces."

Speaking to reporters on the scene, he added: "We have to wait for the conclusions of the investigation. As long as we do not have those conclusions, we can not say anything. We must remain very careful"