Several people have been seriously injured after a car struck pedestrians in Manchester. Emergency services at the scene reported five injuries.

At 9.50pm on Thursday police were called to Europa Way, Trafford Park, following reports that a car had collided with a number of pedestrians on an industrial estate near a roundabout. The driver of the vehicle failed to stop and immediately fled the scene.

Greater Manchester police appealed to the public for help in locating a blue BMW 330D, registration number YA17 VSJ.

The National Police air service helicopter based at Barton assisted with the search operation for the driver.

A witness, who did not want to be named, reportedly said: “A car hit five or six people. People were flung everywhere. I saw a man in a bush afterwards and a lady with head injuries.”

Officers at the scene confirmed that five people had suffered serious trauma injuries.

Three of the five people injured were taken to the Salford Royal, while one patient was taken to the Manchester Royal Infirmary.

“Today at [9.50pm], we were called to reports of a single vehicle road traffic collision involving multiple casualties,” Greater Manchester police said in a statement. “There’s no evidence at this stage to indicate it’s a deliberate act or linked to any form of terrorism. We believe at this stage it was an accident.”

GMP warned the roads in the area will be closed for some hours to come as scene examinations continue.

Europa Way and Wharfside Way, which skirts around the nearby Manchester United stadium, Old Trafford, is fully closed along with several other roads in the vicinity.

The site of the incident is several hundred yards west of the football ground, and directly south of the ship canal by MediaCity, where major BBC and ITV studios are housed.