LIVERPOOL, England (AFP) — A car ploughed into football fans celebrating Liverpool’s English Premier League title victory on Monday injuring several people while police said a 53-year-old man had been detained.

Witnesses reported people being knocked over as a dark-coloured people carrier (multipurpose vehicle) swerved through huge crowds among tens of thousands who turned out to see the English team’s victory parade.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw at least four people taken away on stretchers.

“It was extremely fast,” said Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, near Birmingham, central England, who came to see Liverpool players parade the trophy through the city in an open-topped bus.

“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 eyewitnesses 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.

Cordons were put in place and a fire engine was also at the scene.

North West Ambulance Service said its crews were “assessing the situation” with other emergency services.

“Our priority is to ensure people receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible,” a statement read.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the scenes in Liverpool “appalling”.

“My thoughts are with all those injured or affected,” he wrote on
X.

“I want to thank the police and emergency services for their swift and ongoing response to this shocking incident. I’m being kept updated on developments and ask that we give the police the space they need to investigate.”

Liverpool’s football history has been marked by tragedy.

In 1989, 97 Liverpool fans died in a stadium crush at a game in Sheffield.

In 1985, 39 mainly Italian fans were killed when a wall collapsed amidst disturbances between Liverpool and Juventus fans at Heysel Stadium in Brussels.