Girl, 5, among Vancouver dead as suspect charged

A man has been charged with eight counts of second degree murder after a car drove into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver, Canada, killing at least 11 people - including a five-year-old girl.

Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, appeared in court late on Sunday and was returned to custody, Vancouver Police Department said, adding that further charges are expected.

Acting police chief Steve Rai described Saturday's attack at the Lapu Lapu Day festival - which was attended by up to 100,000 people - as the "darkest day in the city's history".

The identities of those killed have not yet been released by officials, and police said dozens more were hurt in the attack which is not being treated as terrorism.

Police said the suspect was known to them prior to the attack.

Organisers of the annual Lapu Lapu festival said the city's tight-knit Filipino community was "grieving" and the attack's impact will be felt for years to come.

The attack took place at around 20:14 local time on Saturday (03:14 GMT) at East 43rd Avenue and Fraser in the south of Vancouver.

Several eyewitnesses to Saturday's attack described the moment the black SUV vehicle ploughed into crowds.

"There's a car that went just through the whole street and just hitting everyone," Abigail Andiso, a local resident, told the Associated Press.

"I saw one dead, one man on the ground, and I went... towards the end where the car went, then there are more casualties, and you can see straight away there are about... maybe 20 people down, and everyone is panicking, everyone is screaming."