Police officers surround a car moments after it slammed into a monument in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, on Thursday. (Cynthia Boll/Associated Press)

Four spectators participating in Queen's Day celebrations in the Netherlands were killed Thursday after a speeding car careened through a crowd before crashing into a monument.

Prosecutor Ludo Goossens told reporters four people were killed in the incident in Apeldoorn, about 80 kilometres east of Amsterdam. Thirteen people were also injured, he said, with eight listed in critical condition at local hospitals.

Video and images taken at the scene show a black Suzuki crashing through a crowd of people and police barricades as an open-air bus carrying Dutch Queen Beatrix and the royal family passes by.

Video shows bodies flying through the air as the vehicle narrowly misses officers on bicycles and members of the royal family looking on in shock before it plows into a stone column. The royal bus was not hit in the crash and no members of the royal family were hurt.

"It was a really nice day. Then you hear a bang. Everyone looks up and you see people indeed flying through the air. This must be a joke or a strange prank. Then suddenly panic, and you realize that something really terrible has happened," Peter von de Vorst told RTL television.

The video shows spectators on the ground and officials rushing and attempting to resuscitate them, while police officers huddle around the crumpled car.

The driver of the car was injured and is in police custody at a hospital, Goossens said. Several spectators were also taken to hospital by ambulance.

Deliberate act

Goossens said the crash is believed to have been deliberate but not meant as an act of terrorism.

The suspect is a male in his 30s with no police record or history of mental illness, police said.

Queen Beatrix sent out a sympathy message to the victims' families in a nationally televised statement on Thursday.

"What started as a beautiful day has ended in terrible drama, which has shocked us deeply," she said.

Watching the royal family pass on its way to the Het Loo palace on the national holiday is a popular part of the day's activities and the crowd was lined up to six people deep.

Queen's Day was originally intended to celebrate the birthday of Beatrix's mother Juliana and activities now include street festivals and flea markets.

It is not clear how the car managed to enter the parade area, which police had sealed off hours before.

Apeldoorn Mayor Fred de Graaf said all festivities were being cancelled following the incident. "The scare and the images that the family has seen are reason to break off the official program," he said.

Public events in the port city of Rotterdam were also cancelled following the incident.

Local media reports indicated that official activities across the country were also being cancelled.

With files from The Associated Press