Berlin: 12 people have died and 48 are injured after a truck “deliberately” drove into a Christmas market
Berlin police said 12 people have died and 48 injured after a truck ploughed into a crowd at a Christmas market in the heart of west Berlin last night.
Investigators assume the driver that ploughed into the market did so deliberately and said the incident was a "probable terrorist attack".
"Our investigators assume that the truck was deliberately steered into the crowd at the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz," police said on Twitter.
Police said on Twitter there are no indications of further danger in the area, but advised citizens of Berlin to stay home.
Currently, there are no indications of further dangerous situations in the city near #Breitscheidplatz.
— Polizei Berlin Einsatz (@PolizeiBerlin_E) December 19, 2016
Please help us. Stay home and do not spread rumors. Follow us here for important information. #Breitscheidplatz
— Polizei Berlin Einsatz (@PolizeiBerlin_E) December 19, 2016
The truck hit people gathered around wooden huts at the market at what would have been one of its most crowded times.
Reuters reported a witness said the truck looked to be travelling at about 40mph.
Sources told the DPA news agency that the driver is an Afghan or Pakistani asylum seeker, though his identity has not been confirmed. Police have confirmed a passenger was found dead in the lorry, a Polish national, who could be the original driver of the truck.
The newspaper Bild's editor Julian Reichelt said a massive security operation was under way.
"The scene certainly looks like a reminder of what we have seen in Nice," Reichelt said, citing the incident in France in July when a lorry was driven into a crowd gathered along the beach front for Bastille Day.