Britain's Police at the scene of a crash in central London yesterday. Photo / AP
Britain's Police at the scene of a crash in central London yesterday. Photo / AP
London police say a car crash that injured 11 people outside the Natural History Museum is a road traffic accident, not a terror attack.
Police made the statement Saturday afternoon nearly four hours after the car hit pedestrians in a crowded tourist area. One man was detained at the scene. He has not been charged.
The London Ambulance Service says nine people were hospitalised following the crash.
Deputy Director of Operations Peter McKenna said yesterday that those taken to the hospital for treatment had mostly leg and head injuries.
The incident caused panic on the crowded street outside the museum on Saturday afternoon.
Britain has been on a "severe" terrorist threat level and a massive police response followed the traffic incident.
Workers in a cafe near London's Natural History Museum said they fled the scene in panic after the crash.
Marilin Mueller, 20, said she thought at first it was a traffic accident but that "loads of police cars" arrived shortly after. She says "all of these police came marching down saying, 'Move, move.' They said, 'you need to evacuate.'"
Many shops in the museum district were evacuated and the museum was shut down as police tried to determine if there was a threat to the public.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has tweeted that "a number of people" have been injured in an incident involving a car in the city's museum area.
He said "details are still emerging" about the incident yesterday and that he is in close contact with Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, who plays a lead role in the police's counter-terrorism operation.
