Italian police are looking for a Dutch national who stabbed his father and a family friend to death at a house in a village in the north Italian Piemonte region, Italian media reported.

The 21-year-old, named as Sacha Chang, is thought to have killed his father first. He is then said to have attacked the 60-year-old owner of the house where they had been staying in the village of Montaldi di Mondovi.

The man managed to contact police but later died from his injuries at a hospital in Turin.

Chang, who is thought to be suffering from mental problems, fled into nearby woods. Police have issued a description of the man and are using a police helicopter to track him down.

The Dutch foreign ministry has confirmed the two victims are a 60 year-old man from Harderwijk and a 65-year-old from Amsterdam and are in contact with relatives of the murdered men.