A 53-year-old British man plowed his minivan into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans who had been celebrating the city team’s Premier League championship on Monday and was arrested, police said.

An AFP journalist in Liverpool saw at least four people taken away on stretchers, after witnesses reported seeing people knocked by a colored vehicle swerving through the huge crowds.

It was not immediately clear exactly how many people had been hurt. But tens of thousands of people turned out in torrential rain for the jubilant celebrations to see the northwest English side’s victory parade, involving players on an open-topped bus and fireworks.

The bus carrying the team had passed by on Water Street just minutes before the car rammed the crowd, witnesses told media.

“It was extremely fast,” said Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, near Birmingham, central England, who was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters.

“Initially we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of the car,” he told reporters.

“It was horrible and you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.”

Peter Jones, who had traveled from Isle of Man for the parade, said he heard the car smash into the crowd and then saw at least a half dozen people down in the road.

“We heard a frantic beeping ahead, a car flew past me and my mate, people were chasing it and trying to stop him, windows smashed at the back,” Jones said. “He then drove into people, police and medics ran past us, and people were being treated on the side of the road.

Rashid said after the car rammed its initial victims, it came to a halt and the crowd charged the vehicle and began smashing windows.

“But then he put his foot down again and just plowed through the rest of them, he just kept going,” Rashid said. “It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.”

Rashid said it looked deliberate and he was in shock and disbelief.

“My daughter started screaming and there were people on the ground,” he said. “They were just innocent people, just fans going to enjoy the parade.”

Merseyside Police called for calm and said the arrested man was “a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area.”

“Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision,” a spokesperson added, urging the public not to speculate on the circumstances of the collision.

Cordons were put in place and ambulances and a fire engine were also at the scene, with the injured being treated on the street.

North West Ambulance Service said its crews were “assessing the situation” with other emergency services.

“Our priority is to ensure people receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible,” a statement read.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the scenes in Liverpool “appalling.” “My thoughts are with all those injured or affected,” he wrote on X. “I want to thank the police and emergency services for their swift and ongoing response to this shocking incident.”

“I’m being kept updated on developments and ask that we give the police the space they need to investigate,” he added.

Liverpool had been a sea of red as hundreds of thousands of supporters packed the city’s streets, on a national holiday day, to celebrate winning the Premier League title with Arne Slot’s successful squad.

Liverpool’s last league title came in 2020 but supporters were denied the chance to publicly celebrate that trophy due to restrictions in place at the time during the pandemic.

Star players Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk led the festivities alongside their teammates on the top deck of the bus.

Plumes of red smoke from flares had filled the air as the players took four hours to cover the 10-mile route.

Liverpool’s soccer history has been marked by tragedy.

In 1989, 97 Liverpool fans died in a crush at a game in the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield.

More than 760 people were also injured in the deadliest disaster in British sporting history, which still scars the port city.

In 1985, 39 mainly Italian fans were killed when a wall collapsed amidst disturbances between Liverpool and Juventus fans at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.

The club said in a brief statement that it was in direct contact with police, adding: “Our thoughts are prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident.”