CNN
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Four instructors from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, were injured in a “serious incident” while visiting a park in China on Monday, according to a statement from the school.

The instructors were in China teaching as part of a partnership with a local university and had been accompanied to the public park by a faculty member of that partner institution, Cornell College President Jonathan Brand said in a statement to the college community.

“We have been in contact with all four instructors and are assisting them during this time,” Brand said.

Brand did not name the partner institution in his statement.

No students were participating in the program, according to the school.

Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson, who represents the district where the college is located, said in a post on X that the four college employees “were brutally stabbed.”

“My team has been in communication with Cornell College and will do everything in our power to bring these Iowans home safely,” Hinson said. “Join me in praying for their health and safety.”