One killed and 10 injured after car rams pedestrians in Caen, France

At least one person has been killed and 10 others have been injured after a car deliberately rammed into a group of pedestrians standing outside a train station in France.

The incident took place in Caen, northern France on Wednesday evening near a bar in the area.

The victims are all men aged between 17 and 40, according to the prefect of the department of Calvados, David Claviere.

The driver, a 26-year-old man born in Russia, was arrested around 20km (12 miles) away from the scene of the incident in the town of Ouistreham.

Authorities said that he was not known to intelligence services, “only for traffic offences”, and police are investigating the case and reviewing CCTV footage. His motivation for the action is unknown.

Police believe that the incident is not terrorism related.

Local media have reported that a fight had broken out before the ramming took place.

"For the moment, we are not dealing with a terrorist motive, but the investigation is only just beginning," said Bruno Coutanceau, a top security official for the area.

“The toll is heavy as we have one death, seven people in critical condition and three people in serious but not critical condition,” Claviere, told reporters.

Pictures from the scene show emergency services attending to the incident with crowds gathering around the spot.

Locals have been advised to stay away from the area near Caen train station. A police investigation will be led by detectives from the city’s Specialised Crime Division.

In November last year, two people were left critically injured when a driver rammed into at least five people during a rampage at a popular tourist island off France’s Atlantic coast.

The 35-year-old male suspect was reported to have had a history of alcohol problems and offending. Authorities did not believe that the incident had a terrorist connection and said they were looking into the suspect’s psychiatric condition at the time.

One of the two people seriously injured was revealed to be the 22-year-old parliamentary assistant of National Rally MP Pascal Markowsky.

The suspect, a fisherman, had committed several previous offences, the island’s mayor Christophe Sueur sad, and lived a "very isolated life” and "hadn't been talking much" recently.

Reuters reported that he had previously been known to police for petty crimes including drink driving and drug-related offences.