At least 20 injured after car drives into crowd in Munich

Munich: Munich police said Thursday afternoon there was no public danger after a car drove into a group of people earlier in the day in the capital city of Germany's southern state of Bavaria, with fire officials adding that at least 20 people were injured in the incident.

The driver was detained promptly at the scene, Munich police said.

"The driver of the vehicle was secured on the spot; he currently poses no further danger," police said.

A police spokesman also said that it remains initially unclear how seriously the people were injured, and whether the crash was an accident or a deliberate act.  

Broadcaster BR24 said the group reportedly consisted of people carrying out a token strike by the trade union Verdi.

It also quoted eyewitnesses as saying two men had been in the car, with one of them being shot by police and carried away. Police were calling on the public to refrain from speculation, it said. 

The news magazine Focus said some of the 20 injured were in critical condition,  with police saying two people were seriously injured.

The city's mayor, Dieter Reiter, said he was "deeply shocked" by what had happened and that children were among the injured.

The incident occurred just a day before high-ranking politicians from across the world gather in the city for the prestigiousMunich Security Conference, which is to take place at a location some 1.6 kilometres (1 mile) away from the site of the crash.