Police in Halifax were interviewing five suspects taken into custody after an American sailor was stabbed to death in a bar brawl early Saturday.

About 20 people were involved in the fight at the downtown nightclub Rain, police said.

A police forensic investigator gathers evidence after an American sailor was fatally stabbed during a bar fight in Halifax Saturday.
(Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

The scuffle spilled into the street and turned violent around 4 a.m. AT, said Halifax Regional Police spokeswoman Theresa Brien.

When officers arrived, they found a 28-year-old member of the U.S. navy suffering from stab wounds. He was pronounced dead later in hospital.

Another American sailor was taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries to his foot.

"Within minutes of the incident occurring, police identified and stopped a possible suspect vehicle in the immediate vicinity, at which point one male occupant bailed out of the vehicle and fled," Brien said.

A police dog quickly caught up to the suspect, she said.

Four others arrested had been inside the stopped car. Police say no charges have been laid and investigators continue to question suspects, as well as several witnesses.

The sailor who was killed had arrived in the city aboard the USS Doyle earlier this week. That ship and the USS Gunston Hall are in Halifax taking part in naval training exercises with the Canadian Forces, which are to continue for the next several weeks.