At least nine dead in Toronto after van mows down pedestrians for more than a kilometre

At least, nine people are dead, 16 critically injured after a driver ploughed through pedestrians on a Toronto street, in what appears to have been a deliberate act.

A van mounted a curb in a busy intersection in Canada largest city, Toronto overnight and struck more than 20 people, Canadian authorities confirmed.

Deputy Police Chief Peter Yuen confirmed at a press conference that nine people were killed and 16 were injured.

Bodies covered with blankets could be seen along the footpath after the terrifying incident.

The van, carrying rental markings, fled the scene but was found a short time later. The driver taken into custody. The van was stopped more than a kilometre from where the first person was hit.

He was just hitting people one by one, he hit every single person no the sidewalk, holy God I never seen anything like this in my life ... you see it in a war zone.. He is going 60 to 70 kms on the sidewalk ... this person was intentional, doing this he was killing everybody ... this is terrorism stuff here, an eyewitness told local media.

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It was not immediately clear what caused the van to strike the pedestrians in a busy intersection in the north-central part of the city shortly after 1.30pm local time, but a police source who confirmed it was a deliberate act.

This is going to be a complex investigation, deputy police chief Peter Yuen told reporters. “We have one person in custody and the investigation is ongoing. We can confirm for you tonight right now we have nine people that are dead, 16 injured.

Stephen Powell, district chief for Toronto Fire, said the van “covered between a half-mile and a mile.”

CTV News reported that at least four of the hospitalised victims were in critical condition.

Canada’s minister of public safety says it’s too soon to say whether the crash is a case of international terrorism. Ralph Goodale told reporters that police are still investigating to determine what happened and why.

Goodale says Canada has not changed its terrorism alert level and he has no information that would suggest a need to do so.

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A witness Phil Zullo, told Canadian press that he saw police arresting a man who had been driving a Ryder rental truck and saw people “strewn all over the road” where the incident occurred.

We could see bodies on the ground people trying to revive them, give them CPR,” he said. “The crowd was trying to bring them back to life, their bodies were full of blood. Their body parts were twisted ... I saw dead (people) put into body bags.

First reports of the van striking pedestrians came from the intersection of Yonge St and Fitch Ave (A). The van then reportedly proceeded down Yonge St (B) until stopped after crossing Sheppard Ave (C). Images: Google Maps, MaphillSource:Supplied

The incident occurred as Cabinet ministers from the G7 countries were gathered in Toronto to discuss a range of international issues in the run-up to the G7 meeting near Quebec City in June.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to media as he left a G7 meeting.

Our hearts go out to anyone affected. We’re obviously going to have more to learn and more to say in the coming hours, said Justin Trudeau.

Toronto Mayor John Tory said: “My thoughts are with those affected by this incident and the front-line responders who are working to help those injured.”