Police say one child has died and a woman has been arrested after a car struck a building at a school in south London in an incident that also left several others injured.

United Kingdom authorities had earlier said a total of seven children and two adults had been injured after the incident at the primary school in Wimbledon, which police said was not being treated as “terror related”.

“We remain at the scene and are continuing our investigation into the full circumstances of the incident,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

“We can also confirm that the driver of the vehicle, a woman aged in her 40s, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.”

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Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland, local police commander for south west London, said: “This is tragic news and our thoughts are with the girl’s family and friends, and everyone affected today.

“We remain at the scene and are continuing our investigation into the full circumstances of the incident.”

The Study Prep School at Camp Road in Wimbledon, for girls aged four to 11, is about 1.6 kilometres from the site of the ongoing Wimbledon tennis tournament.

Ambulances, including the air ambulance service, and fire officers were involved in the initial response to the incident.

Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond told the BBC several of those injured were in a “critical” condition.

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“Extraordinarily distressing and tragic incident on the last day of term … there has actually been a major incident declared,” Mr Hammond said.

“There are a number of casualties and injuries as we know. I understand, and I don’t know the numbers, but I understand a number of those are being treated as critical.”

Police extended a large cordon around the school and television pictures from overhead showed the car up against the wall of the building, while firefighters and paramedics stood near a gap in the fencing at the entrance to the site.

“At this time nine people are reported injured. These include two adults and seven children. We await further updates on their conditions,” police said in a statement.

“The driver of the vehicle stopped at the scene. There have been no arrests.”

-Reuters