Several people stabbed by a knife attacker in Finland's Turku

Finnish police have said they shot an assailant who stabbed several people in the center of Turku, a city in southwest Finland.

At least eight people have been hospitalized and two people are dead following stabbings at the Puutori-Market Square in the Finnish southwestern city of Turku, Finnish police said Friday.

Images from the scene showed at least one body on the ground, covered in a white sheet, in the market area where the stabbings took place.

* A video grab taken from Twitter on August 18, 2017 shows officials standing in a street in the Finnish city of Turku where several people were stabbed. (AFP)

Other video footage, purporting to be from Turku, showed people running down the city's streets.

A local newspaper, Turun Sanomat, said Finnish police were stepping up security at transport sites, including Helsinki airport.

Finnish premier Juha Sipila said the government was monitoring the situation and would hold a conference later.