MADRID — Five people have been hospitalized after a car rammed into a pedestrian area in the Spanish resort city of Marbella, say police.

The incident happened on Monday afternoon shortly before 15:30 CEST in an area filled with outdoor cafés and restaurants.

Local authorities said in a statement that a "car had collided with the terrace of a bar on Miguel Cano Avenue and had run over several people".

At least five people have been transferred to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella. One person is reported to be in a serious condition.

A police spokeswoman told Associated Press on Monday that officers arrested the car's driver and are investigating the incident.

The area had been brimming with customers having lunch, said Raúl Morote, whose family owns several restaurants on the popular avenue.

"The car was zigzagging and sweeping away everything," Morote told AP.

He said he could see about a dozen people being assisted on the spot by emergency crews, many of them with blood covering their legs.

"I hope for a speedy and full recovery for the injured," tweeted Guillermo Diaz, a Cuidadanos lawmaker for Malaga. — Euronews