3 critically injured in stabbing on Taipei metro (update)

Taipei, May 21 (CNA) A bloody knife attack on a Taipei metro train Wednesday afternoon left at least 16 passengers injured, including three who showed no vital signs as they were sent to area hospitals.

A single suspected assailant was subdued by police and metro staff and taken to a nearby police station. Unconfirmed reports said the suspect, a knife-wielding man in his 20s, smelled of alcohol.

The attack happened some time around 4:25 p.m. on the Bannan (blue) line, inside a train heading west between Longshan Temple Station in Taipei and Jiangzicui Station in New Taipei.

The three critically injured victims were a woman aged 47, a man aged 20, and another man aged 30, according to initial reports from authorities.

Trains on the blue line were reportedly running in both directions but only on a single track by 6:00 p.m., causing major delays during rush hour commute.

A high school student surnamed Chuang said she was on the platform at Jiangzicui when the train pulled up.

She said that a bloodied women ran out as soon as the doors opened, shouting: "There's a (man) inside with a knife attacking at random!" The women reportedly urged everyone to stay away from the train.

"I'm so scared, help me!" shouted another victim after police arrived on the scene at 4:35 p.m., according to Chuang.

She reported three people lying motionless on the floor of the blood-stained carriage. Another passenger walked out from the train before collapsing on the platform, she said.

(By Sunrise Huang, Wang Hung-kuo and Wesley Holzer)ENDITEM/WH

Update:●4 dead, 21 injured in stabbing on Taipei metro (update)