Video shows pedestrians in Melbourne running for their lives from out of control vehicle

Pedestrians running for their lives from an out of control vehicle in Melbourne narrowly escaped death by diving into a convenience store.

The video, shared on social media, shows a number of people entering the store seconds before a maroon sedan speeds past along the footpath.

The footage is believed to have been captured on CCTV cameras along Swanston Street.

Earlier, mobile phone footage from central Melbourne shows the same vehicle driving erratically in circles inside one of the city's busiest intersections.

The footage, broadcast on Sky News on Friday afternoon, shows the driver of the vehicle circling outside Flinders Street Station as pedestrians and other vehicles do their best to avoid a collision.

The vehicle's tyres screech as it speeds up and slows down. Several pedestrians race across the intersection.

This horrible footage appears to be the car circling around Flinders/Swanston before it sets off down Bourke Street https://t.co/YuNR5mfrBE

— Jeremy Story Carter (@jstorycarter) January 20, 2017

The car exits the intersection after several minutes before driving down Swanston Street towards the pedestrian-only Bourke Street Mall, where several pedestrians were hit.

Police confirmed three people are dead and at least 20 were injured. The driver had been arrested and the situation was now "contained", Victoria Police said.

There are reports from eyewitnesses a pram has been struck, with images of an upturned pram flooding Twitter.