One individual was killed and not less than a dozen others injured when a automotive drove into a gaggle of individuals at a busy procuring district in central Berlin on Wednesday, police stated.
The driving force was briefly detained by passers-by earlier than being handed to police after the automotive smashed via a store entrance, in line with police spokesman Thilo Cablitz.
It was not clear whether or not the crash was intentional, police stated.
The accident occurred round 10.30am (6.30pm AEST) simply throughout from Breitscheidplatz, the place an Islamic State group sympathiser ploughed a truck via a Christmas market in 2016, killing 12.
Cops cowl a lifeless physique after a automotive crashed right into a crowd of individuals in central Berlin on Wednesday. Supply: AP / Michael Sohn/AP
Round 130 emergency personnel have been deployed to the scene, the place a number of folks have been severely injured and a few have been airlifted by helicopter for remedy.
“There are severely injured folks among the many greater than a dozen injured,” Mr Cablitz stated.
The silver Renault Clio with a Berlin licence plate first drove right into a crowd on the nook of Tauentzienstrasse and Rankestrasse, earlier than returning to the highway after which ramming into the store entrance on Marburgerstrasse about 150 metres away.
‘Occurred so quick’
Frank Vittchen, a witness on the scene, instructed AFP he was sitting at a fountain close by when he “heard an enormous crash after which additionally noticed an individual fly via the air”.
The car drove “at excessive pace onto the pavement and did not brake”, he stated.
“All of it occurred so quick,” he stated.
Scottish-American actor John Barrowman, who’s at the moment in Berlin, posted a video to Twitter message through which he stated: “That is dangerous, that is severe … there’s a number of fatalities, there’s a whole bunch of emergency companies …”
Germany has been on excessive alert for automotive ramming assaults because the lethal 2016 Christmas market assault, with most carried out by individuals who have been discovered to have psychological points.
In December 2020, a German man ploughed his automotive via a pedestrian procuring road within the southwestern metropolis of Trier, killing 4 adults and a child.
Earlier the identical 12 months, a German man rammed his automotive via a carnival procession within the central city of Volkmarsen, injuring dozens of bystanders, together with kids. He was sentenced to life in jail final 12 months.
In January 2019, one other German man injured eight folks when he drove into crowds on New 12 months’s Eve within the western cities of Bottrop and Essen. He was later taken into psychiatric care.
In April 2018, a German crashed his van into folks seated exterior a restaurant within the metropolis of Muenster, killing 5 earlier than taking pictures himself lifeless. Investigators later stated he had psychological well being issues.
Throughout the soccer World Cup in Germany in 2006, a German man rammed his automotive into crowds gathered to observe a match on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, injuring some 20 folks. The driving force was later dedicated to a psychiatric hospital.
