Vancouver latest: Nine dead after car crashes into Lapu Lapu Filipino festival

At least nine people have been killed after a car was driven into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver, Canadian police said.

Vancouver Police said “multiple others” were injured as a driver struck pedestrians at the annual Lapu Lapu festival on Saturday evening.

The crash was being treated as a “mass casualty incident”, the police said.

Authorities have not yet said whether the incident was deliberate. Vancouver police wrote on X late on Saturday: “At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism.”

A 30-year-old male suspect has been taken into custody, Mr Rai said. He confirmed only one vehicle and one suspect were involved, with more details expected to be released soon.

Stuti Mishra with the full report:

Carayn Nulada said she pulled her granddaughter and grandson off the street and used her body to shield them from the SUV which ploughed into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu festival.

Her daughter suffered a narrow escape, she said.

“The car hit her arm and she fell down, but she got up, looking for us because she is scared,” said Ms Nulada, who described children screaming, and pale-faced victims lying on the ground or wedged under vehicles.

“I saw people running and my daughter was shaking.”

Ms Nulada was in Vancouver General Hospital’s emergency room early Sunday morning, trying to find news about her brother, who was run down in the attack and suffered multiple broken bones.

Doctors identified him by presenting the family with his wedding ring in a pill bottle and said he was stable but would be facing surgery.

Police will hold a news conference at 10am local time (6pm BST), according to the Globe and Mail newspaper.

Vancouver Kensington MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) Mable Elmore will join the conference, it added.

We’ll bring you all updates on this blog.

British foreign secretary David Lammy has said he is “deeply saddened” by the incident in Vancouver.

“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the terrible events at Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu festival last night,” Mr Lammy wrote on X.

“Our thoughts are with all of those affected, their families and loved ones.”

Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr, better known as Bongbong Marcos, said he was “shattered to hear about the terrible incident” in Vancouver.

Mr Marcos said the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver was working with Canadian authorities to ensure that the incident would be thoroughly investigated.

Vancouver Coastal Health, the regional health authority for the city, has confirmed a “code orange” mass casualty event according to The Canadian Press.

Set by the British Columbia Ministry of Health Services, the code is put into place when extra support is needed to respond to a large scale health event. The colour indicates the type of event, rather than how serious it is.

Canada’s Liberal Party has said it will delay its election campaign movements on Sunday morning following the horrific incident at the Lapu Lapu festival, a party official has said.

The country is heading to the polls on Monday, for a general election which may see a tight race between tight race between prime minister Mark Carney’s Liberals and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.

Here are some of the latest pictures from the scene coming through on the wires:

James Cruzat, a Vancouver business owner, was at the event and heard a car rev its engine and then “a loud noise, like a loud bang” that he initially thought might be a gunshot.

“We saw people on the road crying, others were like running, shouting, or even screaming, asking for help. So we tried to go there just to check what was really actually happening until we found some bodies on the ground. Others were lifeless, others like, you know, injured,” Mr Cruzat said.

“It was terrible to see that kind of incident, that situation. It was heartbreaking,” Mr Cruzat added. “I couldn’t even imagine that it’s actually happening in real life, because normally we see that on TVs or movies.

“But when you are in that kind of situation, it was really shocking. You couldn’t do anything but to pray for them.”

Vancouver Police have now confirmed nine people have died after a car ploughed into a crowd at a street festival.

Posting an update to social media, the force said: “As of now, we can confirm nine people have died after a man drove through a crowd at last night’s Lapu Lapu Festival.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragic incident.”