Police launch hunt for chainsaw attacker in Swiss border town

Police are searching for a man who attacked five people with a chainsaw in the town of Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

Two people are receiving treatment for serious injuries after the assault at the offices of Swiss insurance company CSS, but it is reported that their lives are not in danger.

The man for whom police are searching has been identified as Franz Wrousis, 51, who is believed to live in the woods.

He was described as about 188 centimetres tall and highly dangerous. Mr Wrousis has been convicted twice of weapons offences.

Police major Ravi Landolt said that while the assault was not an act of terror, it was not random.

“This is not an attack against a hypothetical person. This is clearly against people from the insurer,” Maj Landolt said.

The old town in Schaffhausen, which lies near the border with Germany, has been cordoned off.

More than 100 officers are searching the areas surrounding the town, which has a population of 36,000.