Two dead and 10 hurt after car rams into crowd in northern France

Two people have been killed and 10 others injured after a car crashed into a group of people near a train station in Caen in northern France, the BBC reported citing French officials.

"A car deliberated rammed into pedestrians opposite the station," local prefect David Clavière told reporters, adding that seven of those injured were in a critical condition.

A man was later arrested after authorities launched a major emergency response in the wider Normandy region.

Caen Mayor Aristide Olivier said investigators were trying to understand what had led to the driver's actions. Witnesses said a fight had broken out between two groups before the incident took place.

"For the moment, we are not dealing with a terrorist motive, but the investigation is only just beginning," said Bruno Coutanceau, a top security official for Caen.

All of the victims appeared to be men between the ages of 17 and 40, he told AFP.

The suspect, a 26-year-old man born in Russia, was later arrested around 20km (12 miles) away in the port town of Ouistreham.