A stabbing attack on children heading to a Zurich daycare centre on Tuesday left one boy seriously wounded and two others injured, said police who detained a Chinese national.

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The three children hurt in the attack were treated by paramedics and taken to hospital.

The attack happened around midday on Berninastrasse, a largely residential street in the Oerlikon district in the north of Switzerland’s biggest city.

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“According to initial findings, a daycare worker was on her way to a daycare centre with several children when a man suddenly attacked the children with a blade,” Zurich police said in a statement.

“The daycare worker reacted immediately and overpowered the attacker with the help of a man, and held the suspected perpetrator until the emergency services arrived.”