A truck plowed into a crowd at a busy Christmas market in western Berlin leaving at least nine dead according to Berlin police, and over 50 people injured.
Local media, citing police at the scene, said first indications pointed to an attack on the market, situated near the fashionable Kurfuerstendamm avenue and at the foot of the ruined Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church that was kept as a ruin after World War Two. A police spokesperson told German media that they are treating the truck incident in Berlin as a terrorist attack.
The incident evoked memories of an attack in France in July when Tunisian-born Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a 19-tonne truck along the beach front, mowing down people who had gathered to watch the fireworks on Bastille Day, killing 86 people. Police shot the driver dead in the Nice attack claimed by Islamic State.
Television pictures from Berlin showed the truck standing amid debris by small wooden stalls that make up the “Christkindlmarkt” of which there are several in Berlin at this time of year. Police cars and ambulances converged on the scene
According to German media, the Police have said that the first indications from the ongoing investigation suggest the truck crash was an attack on the Christmas market.
BREAKING: Reports: Truck runs into crowded Christmas market in Berlin; multiple injuries reported.
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 19, 2016
PT: Breitscheidplatz in downtown Berlin. Police suspects terror attack. pic.twitter.com/Tu8LCGTd8U
— Tobias Schneider (@tobiaschneider) December 19, 2016
Lorry just ploughed through Christmas market in #berlin. There is no road nearby. People crushed. I am safe. I am safe pic.twitter.com/63iWMmdSKr
— Emma Rushton (@ERushton) December 19, 2016
Photos du camion qui a foncé dans un marché de Noël à Berlin pic.twitter.com/M2SoheaFAj
— LesNews (@LesNews) December 19, 2016
German media: Police say first indications from investigation suggest truck crash was an attack on Christmas market in Berlin
— Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) December 19, 2016
Police said that “numerous” people had been injured, but there is presently no information on potential fatalities.
Truck drives into a crowded Christmas Market in #Germany‘s #Berlin.
Many people injured. Many unconscious on the ground. Reports of a shot.— Polla Garmiany (@PollaGarmiany) December 19, 2016
Camión atropella a varias personas en un abarrotado mercado navideño en Berlín y se habla de muchos heridos – @InfobaeAmerica . (@DannyNis) pic.twitter.com/UyatRwzkvo
— Opy (@OpyMorales) December 19, 2016
