Truck Ploughs Into Crowd At Christmas Market In Berlin

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IMAGE: CNN

A suspected attacker is dead and another in police custody after a truck ploughed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing at least nine people and injuring 50 others.

An amateur video aired on German TV and allegedly taken directly after the attack showed people lying on the ground in the market at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Church in western Berlin.

The truck careered into the Berlin market at what would have been one of the most crowded times for the Christmas market, when adults and children would be gathering in the traditional cluster of wooden huts that sell food and Christmas goods.

"I heard a big noise and then I moved on the Christmas market and saw much chaos...many injured people," Jan Hollitzer, deputy editor in chief of Berliner Morgenpost, told CNN. "It was really traumatic."

Another reporter for the Berliner Morgenpost described it as a "gruesome scene".

Large parts of the area, which is also one of German capital's most popular shopping streets, have been cordoned off.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said through her spokesman that she is mourning those killed.

"We are mourning the dead and hope the many people injured can get help," Steffen Seibert says on Twitter.

Emma Rushton, a tourist visiting Berlin, told CNN the truck seemed to be travelling at about 65km/h.

Julian Reichelt, editor in chief of Bild Berlin, said that there was currently a massive security operation underway.

"The scene certainly looks like a reminder of what we have seen in Nice," Reichelt said.

Monday night's incident evoked memories of the Nice attack in July when Tunisian-born man 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. The attack was claimed by Islamic State.

19 December 2016

Article by:

AAP




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