One man held after several hurt in car collision near London museum

One man was detained after a number of pedestrians were injured in a collision with a car near the city’s Natural History Museum on Saturday, and London police said they were trying to determine the circumstances.

British media reported a car had mounted the sidewalk outside the tourist attraction, one of several large museums in that area of South Kensington, west London, and police said a man had been detained at the scene.

“A vehicle has collided with pedestrians near the Natural History Museum entrance at Exhibition Road,” the museum, one of the most popular visitor attractions in the country, said in a statement.

“We are working with emergency services to assess the incident and we are doing all we can.”

Police described the incident as a collision. Unverified footage from the scene showed a man being pinned to the ground by four people.

A spokeswoman for the London force said counter-terrorism officers were assessing the incident but had not yet reached a conclusion as to the circumstances. Earlier a spokesman told Reuters it was not being treated as a terrorism-related incident at this stage.

Prime Minister Theresa May was being updated, a spokesman said, adding it was usual practice in such circumstances.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was in close contact with the police’s most senior counter-terrorism officer.

A Reuters witness said there were large numbers of police, including armed officers, and paramedics at the scene although the atmosphere appeared calm.

Source: Reuters