Man hospitalised after stabbing himself at Heathrow airport

A man has been taken to hospital after sustaining non-life threatening injuries as a result of stabbing himself at Heathrow airport.

The passenger had passed through the airport's security checks before picking up an object and repeatedly stabbing himself in the head and torso.

Officials told The Guardian that that two airline employees disarmed the man before police, paramedics and airport security arrived on the scene at Heathrow's Terminal 5.

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One witness, Tamara Lynch, told the paper that the man appeared to be foreign, saying: "He stood with his back to the shop window and was stabbing himself in the neck, and he opened his jacket up and was trying to stab himself in the chest. I couldn't see what he was using but he was really trying to ram it in. There was blood all the way down the side of his face and down his shirt."

Another unidentified witness claimed the man had "picked up the knife at a seafood restaurant" and that "people were trying to stop him without getting too close". The witness added: "He never tried to attack anyone apart from himself so I don't think it was a terrorist attack."

A Heathrow spokesman said there had been an incident with a passenger who had stabbed himself and there was no risk to other passengers. He said: "I can confirm that there was no breach of security. The passenger appears to have picked up the knife in one of the airside departure lounge shops but it would not have been a really sharp object."

A spokesperson for Scotland Yard said: "Police were called to a shop at Heathrow Terminal 5 after a report that a man had injured himself with a knife. Officers attended along with paramedics and the man was taken to a west London hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. A crime scene is in place while officers investigate. At this early stage no other person is being sought in connection with the incident."