Manhunt launched after alleged axe attack in Victoria leaves three seriously injured

Three people are in hospital with life-threatening injuries after an alleged axe attack in Tyers, a town in Victoria’s Gippsland region. Police are searching for a man in his 50s who is known to the victims.

Victoria police said the alleged attacker arrived at an address at about 12.30pm on Saturday. He allegedly attacked an elderly man and woman and a third person with an axe before fleeing the property on foot. The victims managed to call emergency services.

A specialist air ambulance and road paramedics treated all three people at the scene. Ambulance Victoria said a man in his 70s and a man in his 40s were taken to hospital in critical condition. A woman in her 70s was transported in a serious but stable condition.

Police launched a large-scale search and continued looking for the suspect on Sunday. He was last seen wearing a black and mustard-colored jacket and carrying a black backpack. Police warned that he may be armed with an axe and handsaw and urged anyone who sees him not to approach him, but to call Triple Zero immediately.