Moscow taxi mounts pavement and injures people 'wearing Mexico colours'

Alec Luhn
Updated
The taxi lost a bumper and toppled a parking sign during the incident - Twitter
The taxi lost a bumper and toppled a parking sign during the incident - Twitter

A taxi mounted the pavement near Moscow's Red Square on Saturday evening, ploughing into a group of people and injuring eight.

Early reports say that Mexico fans are among the injured, as some of those involved were wearing Mexican team colours.

Police said the driver likely lost control of the vehicle and has been detained.

Two ambulances quickly arrived at the scene and seven people were taken to hospital. 

There were no immediate details on the severity of the pedestrians' injuries, although a medical source told local media that none of them were grave.

The driver, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, said he did not act on purpose, according to Moscow authorities. 

The taxi lost a bumper and toppled a parking sign during the incident - Credit: Twitter
The taxi lost a bumper and toppled a parking sign during the incident Credit: Twitter

Interfax media reported sources saying the driver may have been drunk.

The accident took place on Ilinka Street, about 650 feet from Red Square and Moscow's famous GUM shopping arcade.

Russia is currently hosting the World Cup and Moscow is one of 11 Russian cities where tournament games are being played. 

Although it did not initially appear to be deliberate, it will hardly lessen fears of a terrorist threat during the World Cup. 

Ambulances take injured people away in the aftermath of the accident - Credit: Twitter
Ambulances take injured people away in the aftermath of the accident Credit: Twitter

Russia has earned the enmity of jihadi groups with its bombing campaign against the Islamic State and rebels in Syria, and Islamists have reportedly threatened fans at the tournament.

Last year, 16 people were killed when a lone wolf attacker blew himself up in the metro in St Petersburg, the World Cup host city near where the England team is based for the tournament. 

An ambulance parked near the damaged taxi that injured seven when it mounted the pavement  - Credit: Jack Stubbs/Reuters
An ambulance parked near the damaged taxi that injured seven when it mounted the pavement Credit: Jack Stubbs/Reuters

Moscow has struggled for years with a simmering Islamist insurgency in the Caucasus region, where it fought two bloody wars in Chechnya.   

Tens of thousands of police have been deployed to World Cup cities, along with national guardsmen and Cossacks, the traditional caste of horse warriors.

The taxi is towed away from the scene of the crash, just a few hundred yards from the Kremlin - Credit: Reuters
The taxi is towed away from the scene of the crash, just a few hundred yards from the Kremlin Credit: Reuters

Anti-aircraft missiles and drone-jamming devices have been protecting the skies near stadiums. 

The influx of police into World Cup cities has been so great that police in at least one other city have worried crime could go up there.