Hundreds of people were gathered at the Westgate Sports Center in Newcastle, England on Sunday to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday, marking the end of Ramadan, when the accident took place. A 42-year-old woman was arrested by Northumbria Police after she lost control of her car and plowed into three adults and three children. No other suspects are being sought and authorities do not believe the incident to be terror-related.

Northumbria police investigating the incident

The 42-year-old unnamed female driver of the vehicle is still in police custody as officials launch a full investigation into the accident, which happened outside the Westgate Sports Center Sunday morning, while people celebrated the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The three adults and three children who were injured in the incident are being treated at a local hospital, with two of the children in intensive care. There were reportedly between 300 to 400 people in the immediate area at the time of the accident.

Video footage posted on social media, reportedly right after the crash, shows people, including children, screaming and running forward to find out what had happened. Others on social media immediately believed the incident to be a terror attack.

‘Wonderful’ celebration marred by an accident

The Chronicle Live quotes Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah as saying she had attended the Eid event and that it was “wonderful.” Calling it a truly happy occasion, she went on to say how tragic it was that the accident happened during the celebration. Onwurah went on to say that she is thinking of the families affected by what she had been told was a terrible accident.

Onwurah did say that it doesn’t help when members of the public go online to call the incident a terror attack and while she understands their concerns and fears, it is harmful to “add fuel to rumors.”

Terror fears in the UK

As reported by the New York Daily News, the accident couldn’t have happened at a worse time, with Britain currently on a high level of alert due to recent incidents in London relating to vehicles, including the London Bridge attack, where three men drove into pedestrians before launching a stabbing attack in Borough Market.

A more recent incident happened at the Finsbury Park Mosque, where a man plowed a van into a group of worshippers leaving the mosque, killing one man and injuring 10 others.

While the Finsbury Park incident was an act of terror, the latest is considered purely accidental. However Newcastle Police have reportedly placed more officers on patrol duty as a reassurance for the public.

Warning: The video included below contains scenes that viewers might find disturbing.
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