Authorities said there were no fatalities after a taxi lost control of his vehicle and drove into a crowd in central Moscow on Saturday.

Eight people sought medical assistance, police said.

One injured woman was in serious but not critical condition, according to Interfax, citing a medical source.

The other injured people were said to be in a "satisfactory condition".

Two Russians and one Ukrainian citizen were hospitalized, TASS said citing an emergency services source.

The Mexican embassy in Moscow said two citizens were "lightly injured".

The taxi driver had lost control of the vehicle, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a social media post.

Moscow police said they had opened a criminal investigation into a suspected violation of the traffic code.

The driver, who was in police custody, said it wasn't deliberate and that he had fallen asleep, a Moscow traffic authority wrote on social media.

It posted a picture on Twitter of the taxi with its bumper broken off.

Video of the incident showed the car driving for about 10 metres along the pavement, bowling over pedestrians, with some of them being carried along on the bonnet of the car.

The taxi came to a halt after hitting a traffic sign. As bystanders tried to pull open the driver's side door, the driver, dressed in black trousers and a black T-shirt, jumped out and sprinted away.

More bystanders chased after him and could be seen trying to tackle him to the ground as the footage ended.

Police have detained a taxi driver who had a driving license issued in Kyrgyzstan, a mainly Muslim ex-Soviet republic, the traffic authority wrote on social media.

It added the taxi had been removed and the road had been reopened.