Four children and a pregnant woman are among 10 people left seriously injured after a Dakar Rally competitor careened off the race track and crashed into a group of spectators.

Guo Meiling, the first Chinese woman to participate in the competition, was driving a Mini Cooper when it ploughed into spectators near Rosario, Argentina, on Saturday.

Footage of the incident appears to show the vehicle swerving to the left and the right of the dirt road before crashing into the gathered crowd on the side of the track.

Scroll down for video

The Mini Cooper, driven by Guo Meiling, is seen spinning off the road in this video taken by a spectator

In this footage, the car is seen hurtling past shops and buildings in a small township near Rosario, Argentina

Moments later a cloud of dust appears when the vehicle, obscured by the buildings, crashes into spectators

Dozens of bystanders then rush to the aid of the injured spectators who are lifted onto stretchers and evacuated.

Four medical helicopters and eight local ambulances were deployed to take the injured to hospitals in the area.

Daniel Modesto, a doctor at the Santa Francisca de Arrecifes hospital, told Argentine station TN that 10 people were treated for injuries, including a pregnant woman and four children.

One child and one adult man were seriously injured. The child was airlifted to a larger hospital, while the man was transferred in an ambulance, he said.

A statement from the hospital in Arrecifes yesterday said two people, a father and son, remained in critical condition.

The accident occurred at kilometer 6.6 of the prologue to the 2016 Dakar Rally, which starts between Buenos Aires and Rosario.

Firefighters and bystanders help carry an injured spectator on a stretcher to an ambulance

At least 10 people were injured in the accident, including four children and a pregnant woman

The wreckage of Guo Meiling's damaged Mini Cooper is seen at the crash site covered in dust and dents

Medical personnel carry an injured man from the scene of the accident, which occurred during the Dakar Rally's opening prologue stage on Saturday

Meanwhile, the opening stage of the rally was also cancelled yesterday due to bad weather.

Race director Etienne Lavigne said helicopters needed to guarantee the safety of participants had been unable to fly due to thunderstorms that broke over the stage from Rosario to Villa Carlos Paz.

The competing cars, trucks, motorcycle and quad bikes were making their way to the end of the stage under controlled conditions.

The annual Dakar Rally, which started out as a gruelling endurance race from Paris across the Sahara to the Senegalese capital Dakar, has been held in South America since 2009 for security reasons.