A truck plowed through a Christmas market in Berlin, killing at least nine and injuring 50, in what police said was probably a deliberate attack.
The truck on Monday rammed into the market outside the capital’s popular Christmas market at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. At least 50 others were injured, Berlin police said. Photos and video posted to social media showed rescue workers at the scene of the incident in the center of Berlin where the lorry had eventually stopped.
Berlin police have begun tweeting in English, noting that the “background” of the Christmas market incident is still unclear. Police also highlight that it is unknown if the person arrested was a driver of the truck. Police note that the LKA, short for Landeskriminalamt, the state criminal police office, is investigating the incident and that there are “no indications of future dangerous situations” in the city.
My thoughts are with the relatives of the victims and those injured in this terrible incident. I am in constant contact with the security forces in Berlin and have offered them every possible assistance from the federal police.
-The German interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, told reporters.
One social media user, Emma Rushton, said that people were “crushed”, and that the lorry had been “going too fast” at around 60 kilometers per hour. Bild newspaper posted a picture of a large Scania truck with its windshield smashed out on the pavement alongside the market. German chancellor Angela Merkel was being briefed on the situation, according to a government spokesman.
Mike Fox, a tourist from Birmingham, said that the large truck missed him by only about three meters as it drove into the market, tearing through tables and wooden stands.
“It was definitely deliberate,” he said, adding that he helped people who appeared to have broken limbs and that others were trapped under Christmas stands.
Truck that burst into side of Christmas market at Breitscheidtplatz, in front of Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church pic.twitter.com/bbXEcrUJAv
— Philip Oltermann (@philipoltermann) December 19, 2016
Please help us. Stay home and do not spread rumors. Follow us here for important information. #Breitscheidplatz
— PolizeiBerlinEinsatz (@PolizeiBerlin_E) December 19, 2016
The passenger of the truck, who drove to the Christmas market at #Breitscheidplatz, died on the spot.
— PolizeiBerlinEinsatz (@PolizeiBerlin_E) December 19, 2016
