Perth restaurant workers rush to save man stabbed in the chest

Three restaurant workers rushed to save the life of a man who had been stabbed and collapsed outside the Perth venue.

Dion Emin, 16, told 9News he had been sitting outside the Bellavista restaurant on Bennett Street in East Perth when the 41-year-old man fell to the ground in front of him, covered in blood and struggling to breathe.

The teenager said the knife was still lodged in the man's chest, with only the handle visible.

"It was a white handle - it looked like a regular steak-cutting knife," Mr Emin said.

"In total, it was 20 centimetres long."

The apprentice chef then ran inside and alerted two of his colleagues at the restaurant who rushed outside to help.

"Dion ran into the kitchen, got a cloth, came back and straight away gave first aid to this gentleman, tried to stop the bleeding and together we put him in the recovery position," the restaurant's manager, Alfredo, said.

"He did a great job - he's definitely the hero here."

Police believe the stabbing occurred somewhere in Wellington Square before the man crossed Bennett Street and collapsed.

Wellington Square is a known hot-spot for assaults. The stabbing comes after a 20-year-old woman was found bashed unconscious in March, and another man was attacked there in September.

Authorities spent hours today scouring the square in the hope of working out how the man came to be stabbed.

A 49-year-old woman has been taken into custody, however so far police have made no charges over the incident.