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An employee killed two people before fatally shooting himself at a lumber plant near the central Swiss city of Lucerne on Wednesday, CNN reported, citing local media.

Police said seven people were hurt in the attack, six of them seriously, according to the Lucerne-based daily newspaper Neue Luzerner Zeitung.

The gunman, 42, was a long-time employee of Kronospan, a wood panel manufacturer in the village of Menznau, police said.

Why he opened fire with a handgun as employees were taking a morning break is not yet clear.

Rescuers flew four critically wounded people to two hospitals, air rescue spokeswoman Karine Hoerhager said.

Initial reports suggested the number of people killed might have been higher. Police have yet to name the two people shot dead by the gunman.

After the shooting, officers cordoned off a wide area around the factory, Lucerne county police spokesman Urs Wigger said Wednesday.

The incident took place at 9 a.m. in Menznau, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) outside Lucerne. The factory employs 350 people, the newspaper said.

Local media reports suggest the plant has had to cut production because of a reduction in the timber harvest.