8 injured after car hits pedestrians in Amsterdam

BRUSSELS — A car struck pedestrians around Amsterdam’s main train station on Saturday, injuring eight people. There was “no indication whatsoever” it was an extremist attack, police said.

Six of the injured were hospitalized, with two of them in serious condition, police spokeswoman Marjolein Koek said.

“There is no indication whatsoever that this is a terrorist attack,” Koek added.

Amsterdam police later tweeted that apparently the driver had been unwell. “Talked to the suspect. Doesn’t appear to be intentional, rather getting sick. Obviously we continue the investigation to exclude other options.”

Police said that the driver was parked in a place where he wasn’t allowed to stop and drove off when approached by police and ran into a wall.

The incident received immediate widespread attention after several extremist attacks in Europe over the past year involving vehicles, including one in London last week.

The first images from the Amsterdam incident area showed a major police presence around the railway station with first aid responders treating one person. A black car was shown to be slightly damaged against a low retaining wall close to the station.