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

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 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.