Police officers erect a white sheet on the site where a car crashed into a crowd. AFP

A car crashed into a crowd of early morning carnival-goers in Belgium on Sunday, killing Six people and injuring 20 people seriously, authorities said.

"A car driving at high speed ran into the crowd that had gathered to attend (the carnival)," mayor Jacques Gobert told Belga news agency.
The incident took place at about 5:00 am (0400 GMT) at the carnival of Strepy-Bracquegnies, a district of the former industrial town of La Louvriere, authorities said, according to AFP.

"This Sunday morning, a vehicle collided with... a group of around 100 people which had just left the sports hall to go back up to the centre of the village," the mayor's office said in a statement.

The public prosecutor's office did not wish to communicate on the case for the time being, but will speak later in the day, it said.
Authorities are to hold a press conference at 11:00 am in La Louvriere.