Indian bus driver kills nine in 'berserk' spree

A bus driver mowed down pedestrians and rammed cars and food stalls in a rampage through crowded Indian streets today, killing nine people and injuring more than two dozen.

Police chased the bus for an hour through the central city of Pune, opening fire in an attempt to stop it, before they arrested the 30-year-old driver. He is being held on murder charges.

"He just went berserk," slamming into people, cars, school buses, scooters and vegetable stands, said Pune police commissioner Meeran Borwankar. "He was in such a dangerous mood."

Pedestrians tried to flee, with some throwing children out of the way of the bus.

The mayor of Pune, about 125 miles south-east of Mumbai, appealed for calm.