Liverpool man detained after vehicle strikes crowd
A police officer shouts at Liverpool fans as he stands on duty at the scene of an incident in Liverpool. Photo: AFP
Several people were injured on Monday when a car ploughed into football fans celebrating Liverpool's Premier League title victory while police said a 53-year-old man had been arrested.
An AFP journalist in Liverpool saw at least four people taken away on stretchers, after witnesses reported seeing people knocked by a dark-coloured vehicle swerving through the huge crowds.
It was not immediately clear how many people had been hurt. But tens of thousands of people turned out in torrential rain for the jubilant celebrations to see the northwest English side's victory parade, involving players on an open-topped bus and fireworks.
The bus carrying the team had passed by on Water Street just minutes before the car rammed the crowd, witnesses told media.
"It was extremely fast," said Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, near Birmingham, central England, who was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters.
"Initially we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of the car," he told reporters.
"It was horrible and you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people."
Other witnesses reported hearing screams and seeing an angry crowd surround the vehicle before police arrived.
Merseyside Police called for calm and said the arrested man was "a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area".
"Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision," a spokesperson added, urging the public not to speculate on the circumstances of the collision.
Cordons were put in place and ambulances and a fire engine were also at the scene, with the injured being treated on the street.
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