Several people have been killed at a school in the Austrian city of Graz, according to local authorities.

Police said they deployed to the school after shots were heard. 

Austria's interior ministry said there were several fatalities but did not specify how many.

There was also no immediate information about any injuries or the status of the perpetrator.

Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school after a call at 10am on Tuesday, local time.

Police said on social network X about an hour later that the deployment was still ongoing and that it involved a helicopter.

Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, is located in the south-east of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants.