A knife attacker has been pictured swimming in the sea in a bid to escape after a horrific stabbing of a British couple on a Moroccan resort.
The couple and a second woman from Belgium are believed to have suffered wounds to their legs and back in the resort of Agadir before they were rushed to Hassan II Hospital on Thursday afternoon.
The attacker can be seen among jet skis and boats with his head floating above the water as he tried to thwart his arrest by swimming away before he was caught and taken into custody.
British witness Carl Denne, 30, had gone to the beach to take photos while on holiday with his family when he heard ‘shocking’ screams coming from further up the beach.
He told : ‘I was going along taking pictures and everything was all lovely, a sunny day, everyone was happy, and then I started hearing screaming.
‘It’s a different type of screaming when it’s like that. You instantly know something’s not right.’
A knife attacker has been pictured swimming in the sea in a bid to escape after a horrific stabbing of a British couple on a Moroccan resort
The attacker can be seen among jet skis and boats with his head floating above the water
A witness told he heard screams as people stood on the beach in shock at what had occured
Agadir Beach is seen as a British couple were stabbed in the back and legs
Mr Denne explained he initially thought someone had been trampled by a camel until he walked up the beach and asked a family what had happened.
‘They said ”no, a man has just dropped his clothes”, I saw the clothes myself, and ”he’s slashed a couple of people with a machete”.
The family said it was then that the attacker ran into the water in a bid to escape.
‘I had my camera with a big lens on and I just started snapping away […] from there,’ said Mr Denne.
‘I think there is a shock, like oh my god that’s just happened.’
Spanish newspaper La Razon reported that police are now investigating whether the incident is terrorist-related.
The couple and a second woman from Belgium are believed to have suffered wounds to their legs and back
The attacker is said to have got in the water after the stabbings in a bid to escape
Two British tourists were injured in a triple stabbing on a seafront promenade in the Moroccan tourist resort of Agadir (Stock photo)
The 33-year-old suspect is understood to have been jailed three years ago for drug trafficking offences.
The horror incident took place around midday on Thursday on the seafront promenade in Agadir, an international resort on Morocco’s southern Atlantic coast known for its golf courses and wide crescent beach.
The promenade is lined with cafes, restaurants and bars.
Well-placed sources told Moroccan press overnight the motive behind the knife attack was still being probed and the suspect remained in police custody.
Two of the victims have been released following treatment but the third victim, whose nationality has not been disclosed, remains in hospital.