At least five people were injured, one of them seriously, when a car drove into the crowd at a classic American car show in Hannover on Saturday, the police and the fire department said.

The police said on Twitter they mounted a large operation after the incident. The car show was taking place at the city's Schützenplatz, an area of some 10 hectares (25 acres) of land that is used for fairs and other large events.

Officials said they were called to a demonstration area of the site where a show car suddenly drove into the audience.

Officials believe vehicle defect to blame

The police said a defect with the vehicle was likely responsible for what they said was an "accident."

Police spokesman Dennis Schmitt said there was no evidence of a connection to terrorism and the car was impounded for inspection.

The police did not identify the car. However, Germany's mass circulation Bild newspaper cited an eyewitness as saying it was a dark green Ford Mustang.

Bild reported that the driver had tried to brake and pull out the key, but the car just kept moving. 

Victims 'thrown for several meters'

Other eyewitnesses described to the newspaper how the victims were thrown several meters (yards) in the air.

The Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung (HAZ) cited eyewitnesses as saying the tires on the vehicle spun as it suddenly accelerated before it pulled to the left and into the crowd.

The witnesses described how the driver was clearly in shock when he got out of the vehicle.

The "Street Mag Show" is Germany's largest show featuring American classic cars and Harley Davidson motorcycles, according to HAZ.

The newspaper said dozens of American cars from the 1930s to the 1980s are put on show and the two-day event attracts around 10,000 people.

With material from DPA news agency.