Eleven spectators have been injured, one seriously, during a crash in the first lap of the senior Isle of Man TT motorcycle race.
Rider Jonathan Howarth, who was involved in this afternoon's smash, escaped unhurt.
The race was red flagged and emergency services were in attendance at the scene.
Organisers ACU Events Ltd said in a statement: "Eleven spectators have been taken to hospital with injuries ranging from slight to serious. None are believed to be life threatening at this time.
"The Police will not be carrying out a full investigation at this stage and it remains a racing incident. The Police are currently assisting in clearing the scene and recovering the bike.
"Race Control are waiting for confirmation from Nobles Hospital that they have sufficient resources available to support a restart of the delayed Senior TT," it added.
Witnesses took to Twitter immediately after the crash, which happened at about 1pm.
One spectator, Phil Bancroft, described how he was "shaking like a leaf" after coming close to being struck by the bike.
He tweeted: "bike heading for me. Just ducked. Hit by bits of bike. Ok thou.
"I just hope those poor people are ok. I honestly thought I was dead.
"I've had a close miss once before on the finishing flag team. But never anything like this.
"I thought I was a goner."
He added: "quite horrible it was. Never been that close to serious injury at the TT."
The International Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) motorcycling event is run in a time-trial format on public roads which are closed for the event.
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