The driver of a taxi that ran into a crowd in central Moscow on Saturday has claimed that the road accident was unintended, Moscow’s traffic organization center said in a Twitter post.

"According to the person responsible for the road accident, it was unintended," the post said.

A spokesperson for the Main Directorate of the city’s Interior Ministry told that the driver had lost control of the vehicle.

"The preliminary cause of the road accident is failure to control the vehicle. The driver has been detained and delivered to the local police office. An inspection is underway," the source said."

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A taxi car rammed into a crowd of people near the Gostiny Dvor shopping center in central Moscow, injuring at least eight people, local emergency services reported.

According to the emergency service, the car first plunged into a road sign and then rammed into people.

Eyewitnesses reportedly claim that the driver tried to flee from the scene before he was detained.

The driver has a Kyrgyzstan driver license.

As the local police said in a statement, the preliminary cause of the accident is the loss of control of the car by the driver. He was detained and taken to the territorial police department. An investigation has been opened into the incident.

The Moscow traffic authorities published the photo from the scene:

They have also shared the photo of the driver license of the man that rammed into the crowd, issued in Kyrgyzstan on August 13, 2013.

Local media reports that there were some foreigners, allegedly Mexicans, among those injured.