The shooting happened in Nuutarmiut, Greenland, which has a population of abotu 50 people.The shooting happened in Nuutarmiut, Greenland, which has a population of abotu 50 people. (Google Maps)

Danish police in Greenland say three people have been killed and two seriously injured in a shooting incident.

Police spokesman Claus Risbjerg says a man has been detained but the motive for the shooting is unclear.

Risbjerg said Wednesday four policemen and medical staff flew from the nearby town of Upernavik to Nutaarmiut, a hamlet in northwestern Greenland with less than 50 inhabitants.

Nutaarmiut is 900 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle.

Greenland is an autonomous state within the Kingdom of Denmark.