
A taxi driver who ploughed through a busy crowd of World Cup football fans yards from Moscow's Red Square wept as he revealed he had been driving non-stop for 20 hours.

Eight people - reportedly including two Mexicans, two Russians, a Ukrainian and two Azerbaijani citizens - were injured on Saturday when the taxi drove 10 metres down a sidewalk. It came to a stop after hitting a traffic sign.

Seven were in a satisfactory condition and the eighth was in a more serious condition, the city health department said after the collision, which was captured on camera in shocking footage.

The incident is so far not being treated as terror-related.

In an emotional police interview, 28-year-old Chyngyz Anarbek Uulu cried as he told officers he did not know why he had driven onto the pavement, but later revealed it was because he had been driving for hours without a break.

When asked how long he had been behind the wheel, he replied: 'To be honest, about 20 hours.' He added that he had 'passed out' momentarily before the crash.

Chyngyz Anarbek Uulu, 28, who was allegedly behind the wheel of the taxi which crashed onto a pavement in Moscow and injured eight people

The married Muslim taxi driver is a world class bronze medal winner in a no rules form of boxing and wrestling known as Pankration, which originates in Ancient Greece. He is also a martial arts fanatic.

Uulu's wife is named as Aida Zholdozh Kyzy, 29. She is from Jalal-Abad city in Kyrgyzstan, some 2,360 miles south-east of Moscow. The couple are believed to have one daughter aged four years old.

He told police he had been working as a taxi driver in Moscow on 20 hour shifts for the last month, only getting two or three hours sleep at a time.

Handcuffed to a bench, he told officers: 'I don't know what happened…' He also reportedly told officers 'I regret very much'.

He later said: 'I wanted to stop, I wanted to let one man pass. I wanted to stop, it was just one second and I pressed the accelerator instead.

'And I thought I was pushing the brakes, I don't know, and I passed out…. And then I saw people being pushed… and then I ran away.'

He added: 'I was afraid, they would have killed me, so many people there.'

Asked if he regretted the incident, he said: 'I wanted to go home… I had some 100 metres to reach my client…Then I planned to go home, to have a sleep, but it happened…'

Family man: Uulu with his wife Aida Zholdozh Kyzy, 29, and their daughter, who is thought to be four years old

Lover and fighter: Uulu with his wife (left) and after winning a bronze award in a fighting contest (right)

Mr Uulu (second from left) alongside a team of Pankration fighters. The sport, originating in Ancient Greece, is a form of boxing and wrestling

A man wearing a green and red Mexico top can be seen trying to bang on the taxi's window while another person wearing a black top can be seen trying to smash his way into the vehicle to grab the driver.

The driver manages to escape the clutches of both men and runs away on foot, but is quickly followed by an angry mob who try to wrestle him to the ground.

Photographs from the scene show the bumper of the car completely detached from the rest of the vehicle, while a parking sign has also been ripped to the ground.

Two ambulances and at least three police patrol cars parked up at the scene of the horrific incident during the World Cup

The alleged taxi driver (pictured all in black) running away from the scene of the crash as bystanders chase him down the street

Russia is hosting the World Cup and the capital's streets have been crowded with foreign visitors. Moscow is one of the 11 cities where games are being played.

The accident took place on Ilinka Street, about 200 meters from Red Square and the famous GUM shopping arcade. Moscow police said the motorist had a Kyrgyzstan driving licence.

The city's traffic monitoring agency said the driver claimed the crash wasn't premeditated. He said he had wanted to brake but accidentally hit the accelerator instead, according to a video published by police.

The bumper of the taxi lies in the road alongside a traffic sign which the vehicle hit, bringing it to a stop

The badly damaged yellow taxi is taken away by a recovery truck in central Moscow after the shocking crash

One witness at the scene said about the taxi driver: 'He was pulled out of the vehicle, he ran off but bystanders apprehended him. He was shouting: "It wasn't me".'

Asked if the driver appeared drunk, the witness said: 'No, he wasn't drunk.'

Witnesses said the driver allegedly tried to flee from the scene but was apprehended by police.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a post on Twitter: 'There was an unpleasant incident with a taxi. The driver lost control of the vehicle.'

A criminal investigation into a suspected violation of the traffic code is now underway, Moscow's police confirmed.

Uulu's driving licence, which was released by Moscow traffic authority following the smash about 200 meters from Red Square