Manhunt after chainsaw attack injures five people in Switzerland

Five people have been injured - two of them seriously - after they were attacked by a man armed with a chainsaw in Switzerland.

Police say they have identified the suspect in the attack in Schaffhausen as a 51-year-old with a criminal record, but he remains at large.

Detectives have sealed off the centre of the town, which lies on the border with Germany.

Investigators said the attack was not an act of terrorism and an insurance company was the apparent target.

Schaffhausen prosecutor Peter Sticher suggested the attacker had a grievance with the firm. Two employees were taken to hospital and have been undergoing surgery.

Franz Wrousis - described as balding, 6ft 2ins tall and with an unkempt appearance - is believed to be driving a Volkswagen Caddy with Swiss number plates.

"This is a dangerous and aggressive man," the chief of security in Schaffhausen, Ravi Landoldt, said. "This was not his first contact with police."

Wrousis does not have a fixed address and is believed to have recently been living in a forest.

It is not clear whether he is still armed with the chainsaw.

Emergency services were called at 10.39am (9.39am UK time) on Monday morning after the attacker entered an office building on a popular shopping street.

An insurance company which is based inside the building told Swiss media that two of its employees are being operated on in hospital.

Schaffhausen is a small medieval town with a population of approximately 36,000 people.