An Auburn man is recovering from serious stab wounds he suffered during an assault that Portland police said took place in the Old Port during the early morning hours Sunday.

Police Lt. Robert Martin said in a statement that the 22-year-old man and a female companion were walking to a parking lot where he had left his car when a group of six to eight men assaulted them around 1:30 a.m.

“The man was knocked to the ground, beaten and stabbed,” Martin said. The woman was punched but did not need to be hospitalized.

In a subsequent email, Martin offered additional details about the man’s injuries and the vicious nature of the attack.

“He was stabbed and slashed multiple times in the face and torso. I don’t have an exact count,” Martin wrote. “He is very lucky to be alive.”

Martin said the man, whom he did not identify, suffered “severe blood loss.”

A quick response by Portland paramedics and the close proximity of Maine Medical Center’s trauma facility likely helped save his life, Martin said. The victim was listed in stable condition Monday night at Maine Medical Center, police said.

The man and woman were attacked in the parking lot of 1 and 2 Portland Square following what police described as a disturbance on Fore Street.

Several witnesses to the incident, as well as the victim, confirmed that his attackers were black males, some of whom were wearing white shirts.

The suspects may have been in the Fore Street area prior to the assault. Martin said investigators are trying to determine whether the assault was related to an earlier disturbance involving the Auburn man on Fore Street.

Police want to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the assault or has information about the group of men who attacked the victim. The police department’s crime tip line is 874-8584.