Four arrested over hate crime attack on ship crew

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a Filipino crew member of a cargo ship was attacked in a hate crime.

Two other men, both also from the Philippines, were also assaulted during the attack involving a large group of people in Avonmouth, near Bristol, on Friday evening.

Police have arrested two men aged 19 and 45, as well as a 17-year-old boy, on suspicion of attempted murder and confirmed they had received reports of racist language being used during the incident.

They remain in custody, as well as a 38-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Emergency services were called to Richmond Terrace, close to Avonmouth Docks, at around 20:30 BST, Avon and Somerset police said.

One man was taken to hospital with serious injuries and he remains in a critical condition.

A second crew member, of the cargo ship that recently docked at Avonmouth, also required treatment but has since been discharged from hospital, while a third sustained minor injuries.

Superintendent Deepak Kenth confirmed all three men were Filipino nationals and said there had been a "suggestion racist language was directed towards at least one of the victims during the attack".

Therefore, he said, police were "treating this as a suspected hate crime at this point, pending further information coming to light".

He also addressed speculation online that the injuries were caused by a knife or similar weapon, but said this was not the case.

"While the full circumstances around what happened remain unconfirmed and under investigation, based on our current understanding we believe this to be an isolated incident and there to be no wider risk to public safety," he said.

A police spokesperson added the force had made Stand Against Racism & Inequality (SARI) aware of the incident and it was helping provide support to the victims.

Police are appealing for anyone with further information about what happened to get in touch.

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