Nine injured in Australia as car crashes into crowd north of Sydney

SYDNEY, Oct 3 — A man appeared to lose ​control of a car that drove into a crowd in the ‌Australian city of Newcastle on Saturday, injuring nine, ⁠authorities said.

The driver ​was arrested at ⁠the scene in the city's suburb ‌of Wallsend ‌about 110 km (68 miles) north of ⁠the New South ⁠Wales state capital Sydney.

Fans had lined local streets to farewell the Newcastle Knights rugby league team, due to compete in the country's National Rugby ‌League grand final in ​Sydney on Sunday, when the incident occurred.

Two of those injured were taken to hospital in a critical condition, a New South Wales Ambulance spokesperson said.

Newcastle Mayor Gavin Morris said it ​appeared the driver lost control ‌of the ‌car ⁠that hit the crowd. "It appears that he was revving the car in some form," Morris said in televised remarks.

Police ‌said initial indications ​suggested the incident was ‌not terrorism ⁠related.

(Reporting by ​Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Jacqueline ​Wong)

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