Several injured, including children, in Australia as car crashes into crowd near Sydney

SYDNEY- A car drove into a ​crowd in the Australian city of Newcastle on Saturday, injuring several people, police said.

The driver was arrested at the scene in the city about 110 km (68 miles) north of the New South Wales state capital Sydney.

Authorities could not confirm how many people had been injured, a police spokesperson said, adding that initial indications suggested the incident was not terrorism related.

Multiple people, including children, were critically injured, Newcastle Mayor Gavin Morris said in televised remarks.

Thousands had lined the city's streets to farewell the Newcastle Knights rugby league team due to compete in the country's National Rugby League grand final in Sydney on Sunday, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.

-Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Jacqueline Wong/Reuters