German Police Rescue Woman Taken Hostage at Train Station

Police said the incident started at a pharmacy inside the train station.

Police forces stand at the Cologne main station in western Germany on Monday,15 October.

(Photo: AP)

German police stormed a pharmacy in Cologne's main train station on Monday, 15 October, freeing a woman who had been held hostage by a man for two hours, officials said. The suspect sustained life-threatening injuries.

It wasn't immediately clear how the man was injured and police said on Twitter that emergency personnel were trying to revive him with CPR. The hostage was also slightly injured and treated on the scene.

Around the time of the incident, a teenage girl was taken from the train station to the hospital with injuries, police spokesman Christoph Schulte said.

He wouldn't confirm local media reports that the hostage-taker had first attacked the girl before taking the other woman hostage.

Police forces stand at the Cologne main stationon Monday,15 October 2018.(Photo: AP)

Police didn't give details about the hostage-taker's identity or motive. They also didn't reveal the hostage's identity.

Before police stormed the pharmacy, the entire train station, one of the biggest in Germany, was evacuated and all train traffic was stopped, leading to delays and cancelations across western Germany.

(This is a developing story and will be updated.)