Taxi ploughs into pedestrians in Moscow, eight injured

Moscow   :  At least eight pedestrians, including some Mexican World Cup fans, were injured after a taxi mounted a crowded pavement in central Moscow.

CCTV footage posted on social media showed the car veer out of a queue of stationary traffic and accelerate into pedestrians before coming to a halt, said a BBC report.

The driver then fled, pursued by several passers-by.

Moscow police said the driver was a 28-year-old national from Kyrgyzstan, who was now being questioned in custody.

The city's mayor said the driver lost control of the car, while Russia's Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying he had fallen asleep at the wheel.

An unidentified official said of the injured: "Seven of them are in a satisfactory condition and one woman is in a moderate condition."

The incident happened not far from the Kremlin and Red Square, an area packed with tourists.

Russia is currently hosting the World Cup, and promised "unprecedented" security measures in all cities hosting the games.