Eight people, including at least four foreign tourists, were stabbed in the Jordanian city of Jerash on Wednesday, according to police.

The tourists, a tour guide and a security officer were stabbed near the Roman ruins for which the town is famous. Three of the tourists were Mexican nationals and another was from Switzerland.

"Around noon, a man attacked tourists, a tour guide and a security officer who tried to stop him in Jerash," a spokesman for the public security directorate said in a statement.

"The wounded were transported to hospital for treatment," he added. "The assailant was immediately arrested."

Read more: Tourists tremble in times of terror

Tourists in 'critical condition'

Another security source said that two victims were in critical condition.

Jordanian news outlet al-Hadath published video footage of a victim lying motionless on the ground bleeding, while someone pressed a towel to their leg.

Al-Mamlaka TV tweeted images of the crime scene, which has since been closed off to the public.

Jordan has seen an increase in tourists from abroad in recent years and such attacks are rare. Jerash is located around 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the capital of Amman.

Read more: Why Israel censored reporting on the Jordan embassy shooting

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ls, ed/aw (Reuters, dpa, AP, AFP)