Christmas market carnage: 'Afghan refugee' drove stolen lorry that ploughed into Berlin shoppers at 40mph killing 12 and injuring 48
- At least 48 injured and 12 dead after truck mowed down shoppers at 40mph in a busy Christmas market
- Police indicated the incident is likely to be a terror attack as driver was arrested and passenger in cab died
- Speculation the Polish-registered lorry was stolen by refugee after haulage firm lost contact with the driver
- Police using Twitter to urge locals to stay indoors and check 'suspicious items' as Angela Merkel is 'mourning'
A refugee is thought to have been behind the wheel of a 25-tonne articulated lorry which mowed down and killed 12 people - and injured 48 others - as it sped at 40mph through a busy Christmas market in Berlin.
The vehicle laden with steel cargo mounted the pavement before tearing through stalls and shoppers in the market on Breitscheidplatz Square, outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in the German capital's main shopping area.
The man at the wheel - who according to German newspaper Berliner used different aliases, was of Afghan heritage and had arrived in Germany in February - fled the scene before being arrested at a nearby zoo.
Local reports suggest the original driver, who was transporting steel beams from Poland to Germany, had been hijacked and was found dead in the lorry's cabin.
As German police, the White House and the German Interior Minister indicated the incident was terror related, there was a chilling echo of the deadly terror attack in the French city of Nice in July. It also came just one hour after the Russian ambassador was shot dead in Ankara.
It came after repeated warnings from various security agencies that ISIS planned to wreak havoc on European countries during the festive season, specifically threatening Christmas markets.
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The vehicle left a trail of devastation in its wake, in a chilling echo of the deadly terror attack in the French city of Nice in July - and comes just one hour after the Russian ambassador was shot dead in Ankara
At least 12 people have been killed and around 48 injured after a lorry ploughed through a crowd of shoppers at a busy Christmas market in Berlin
The vehicle mounted the pavement before tearing through stalls and shoppers in the market on Breitscheidplatz Square, outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in the German capital's main shopping area
There were harrowing scenes on Monday evening in Berlin, after several people lost their lives just days before Christmas
The usually merry streets became scenes of chaos, with people being pulled from under the flattened wooden stalls and others ferried off in ambulances, some tragically under white sheets.
Germany's justice minister says federal prosecutors, who handle terrorism cases, had taken over the investigation, while police used Twitter to urge locals to stay in their homes, to 'check suspicious objects' and encouraged people to use a Facebook safety check loved ones were safe.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is 'mourning the dead', while The White House said: 'The United States condemns in the strongest terms what appears to have been a terrorist attack on a Christmas Market in Berlin, Germany, which has killed and wounded dozens.'
The Polish owner of the lorry confirmed his driver was missing.
Last night, speaking on Polish news channel TVN24, the owner of the haulage firm Ariel Zurawski said his relative would not have committed an act of terror: 'I can say hand on heart that the man who drove into those people in the centre of Berlin was not my driver.
'This is my cousin. I've known him since I was born. I can vouch for him. My scenario is that they did something to the driver – they hijacked this vehicle because it was practically in the centre of Berlin and they had a good vehicle with which they could do what they did.
'It wasn't my driver, the one that was driving it. They did something to my driver, God forbid, something serious. It looks like that.
'We haven't heard from him since this afternoon. We don't know what happened to him.'
Mike Fox, a tourist from Birmingham, said the large truck missed him by about three meters as it drove into the market, tearing through tables and wooden stands.
'It was definitely deliberate,' he said.
Mr Fox said he helped people who appeared to have broken limbs, and said others were trapped under Christmas stands, adding: 'We were in the market, outside the cathedral and we had just had mulled wine then as we were leaving the large truck came through.
'It went just past me, past my girlfriend. I think it missed me by three metres, missed her by five.
'It came in through the entrance, hit the sides of the barriers and then carried on past us.'
Emma Rushton from Rugby in Warwickshire, saw the lorry rush past her at speed and said it could not have been an accident.
She told Sky News she only missed being caught in the chaos because she had climbed up some steps to take a seat.
Ms Rushton said: 'The stall that we bought our mulled wine from was completely crushed. People were tearing off wooden panels to get out.
'It was not an accident. It was going 40mph, it was in the middle of the market. There was no way that it could have come off the road and it showed no signs of slowing down.'
'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.'
Richard Clarkson, from Brighton, told the Irish Independent he was at the nearby Irish Bar with friends when the incident happened.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere says that he's in constant touch with security authorities, but didn't give any indication in a statement whether they believe the incident was an attack
Bystanders said the crash 'could not have been an accident' as the articulated lorry sped past them and into the crowd
Police detectives climbed over the debris to search the truck, as investigators worked through the night to establish what had happened
The driver of the heavy goods vehicle was apprehended by police after fleeing the scene of the crash
A number of British tourists were among those who witnessed the appalling crash - which happened despite authorities being warned of a possible attack
The vehicle maneuvered from Budapester Strasse onto the area outside the Memorial Church before ploughing into the crowd
The Die Welt newspaper said that German intelligence had been warning city authorities for the past week of a possible attack on a Christmas market
Police in Berlin kept members of the public updated, tweeting the truck may have been stolen and was carrying steel beams - making it even more deadly as it careered through the crowd
World leaders have united in the aftermath of the tragedy, with Boris Johnson and Francois Hollande sending their condolences to
Mr Clarkson said: 'I just walked out and I saw the truck, the windscreen was broken, I didn't see any bodies they were very quick to cover them up I think.
'The word terrorist is being thrown around a lot at the moment and people seem scared.'
The Die Welt newspaper said that German intelligence had been warning city authorities for the past week of a possible attack on a Christmas market.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the circumstances of the deadly crash were still unclear, but a lot pointed to an attack.
'We don't yet have anything conclusive regarding the circumstances and the course of events,' de Maiziere told ARD public television, adding that investigators were working hard to put together all the pieces of evidence.
'I don't want to use the word 'attack' yet although a lot points to that,' the minister said.
One eye witness said the lorry had no lights on when it smashed into the market.
He said: 'He just drove onto the square from the Kant street. That had to have been intentional, because his lights were not switched on. And then I just heard this loud bang and hysterical screaming.'
Australian Trisha O'Neill told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she was only metres from where the truck smashed into the crowded market.
'I just saw this huge black truck speeding through the markets crushing so many people and then all the lights went out and everything was destroyed.
'I could hear screaming and then we all froze. Then suddenly people started to move and lift all the wreckage off people, trying to help whoever was there.'
O'Neill said there was 'blood and bodies everywhere'.
One eye witness said the lorry had no lights on when it smashed into the market, adding He said: 'He just drove onto the square. That had to have been intentional, because his lights were not switched on'
Carnage: There were scenes of absolute carnage in Berlin as the festive market turned into a harrowing and tragic scene
Federal prosecutors, who handle terrorism cases, have taken over the investigation according to justice minister Heiko Maas, who said in a tweet 'we are mourning with the relatives' of the victims
The vehicle mounted the pavement before speeding through a crowd of shoppers, tearing through stalls as it travelled the entire length of the market
Aerial shots from the scene show the devastating aftermath at the crash scene and debris around the truck
Germany's justice minister says that federal prosecutors, who handle terrorism cases, are taking over the investigation after a truck rammed into a Christmas market in Berlin
German intelligence had apparently been warning city authorities for the past week of a possible attack on a Christmas market
There are dozens of ambulances and fire engines at the scene as they work to recover bodies and help those injured
The truck ploughed through the entire length of the market - crashing through market stalls and innocent bystanders
Ambulances line the streets as rescue workers treat those at the scene and try to save those critically injured
Berlin's Mayor Michael Mueller speaks to the media at the scene of the crash as officials and police launched an investigation
In a statement released after the crash, President elect Donald Trump said: 'Our hearts and prayers are with the loved ones of the victims of the horrifying terror attack in Berlin.
'Innocent civilians were murdered in the streets as they prepared to celebrate the Christmas holiday.
'ISIS and other Islamist terrorists continually slaughter Christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad.
'These terrorists and their regional and worldwide networks must be eradicated from the face of the earth, a mission we will carry out with all freedom-loving partners.
Sabrina Glinz, an American tourist, was locked in her hotel after a number of buildings in the area were placed on lockdown.
Watching the scene unfold from the 15th floor, she told Sky News: 'You just keep seeing people getting loaded into ambulances and it doesn't seem to end. Just the white sheets covering them.'
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She added: 'The street that he has to have gone in you have do a u-turn on the street to turn around and instead of doing a u-turn he turned right directly into the market.
'There was absolutely no way he could have accidentally, he went straight into it then veered to the left and is now back onto the main street were the truck is resting.
'He went back to the beginning were it was busiest and then just careered through the buildings.
Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said he was 'deeply stricken and pained' by what he reffered to as an attack in Berlin.
In a statement provided by Italy's foreign ministry, Alfano expressed closeness to Germans 'in this sad moment that instead should be of joy and peace in the approach to the Christmas holidays.'
Alfano said attacks 'won't change our determination to combat terrorism' alongside international partners and in particular Germany, saying the two countries are in strict coordination.
An injured man is pushed to an ambulance at the site of an accident as scores of others are treated at the scene
The vehicle sped through a crowd of shoppers at the Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz Square near the Kurfuerstendamm Avenue in west Berlin
Police subsequently said 12 people had been killed and that one person has been detained over the incident - which comes less than a week before Christmas
Ambulances and police rushed to the area after the driver drove up the pavement of the market in a central square popular with tourists, in scenes reminiscent of the deadly truck attack in the French city of Nice in July
The heavy goods vehicle can be seen clearly damaged - and the driver has yet to be apprehended, according to local reports
Police stand outside a tent near the Christmas market in Berlin as those injured in the devastating crash are treated
Armed police are standing guard at the entrance to the market and around Berlin
Several people have died while dozens have been injured as police investigate the attack at a market outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
Police, fire crews and paramedics have raced to the scene of the incident in Berlin
The truck ran into the market outside the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church this evening
Police say the first indications from the investigation suggest the truck crash was a terror attack
The horrific incident has taken place at a site popular among tourists - with many Brits at the scene
Police have closed off the busy market and launched a manhunt for the suspect, who was arrested nearby shortly afterwards
Only last week it was revealed that a 12-year-old boy tried to bomb the Christmas market in the town of Ludwigshafen with a nail bomb - twice.
The boy, of Iraqi-German parents, was radicalised only recently and is now in the care of the local youth authorities.
Both the Berliner Zeitung newspaper and the Berliner Morgenpost reported the truck ran into the market outside the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church this evening.
A photo posted by the Morgenpost showed damaged tables and stalls.
The Berliner Zeitung said police believed there to be multiple injuries, but police could not immediately be reached to confirm the death toll or number injured.
The incident has happened this evening in a busy Christmas market in Berlin, Germany
Medics are furiously working to treat those injured at the scene, after the truck caused carnage and left a trail of devastation in its wake
View of the Christmas market at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, Germany
German media have reported that several people have been injured in the incident in Berlin
Truck that ploughed through Berlin Christmas market was STOLEN from a construction site, police reveal
The truck that killed 12 people and injured 50 as it careered through a Christmas market in Berlin had been stolen from a construction site, police have revealed.
The suspect thought to have been driving - believed to be a refugee - was arrested shortly after the tragedy at a nearby zoo, while another unidentified man was found dead in the cab.
The arrest fuels fears for the Polish man who was registered as the driver, as his firm's owner said he had 'total confidence' he was not behind the wheel during the Nice-style massacre this afternoon.
The boss, Ariel Zielinski, who is also the driver's cousin, said they last spoke at midday but the man's wife had been unable to reach him at 4pm - hours before the incident, which eyewitnesses claim was deliberate.
Police in Berlin have now confirmed that the truck was Polish and stolen from a construction site, but have refused to release the identity or the nationality of the man found dead inside.
But there has been speculation that the Polish man was the one found dead in the truck on Breitscheidplatz Square, outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, a busy shopping area in west Berlin.
The Scania-made lorry is owned by company Arial Zurawski, which is based in Gryfino in northwest Poland, and was fully laden with steel, making the heavy lorry even more deadly.
Company owner Mr Zielinski told local news channel TVN24 today: 'The truck was coming back from Italy and was in Berlin to unload his cargo in the morning.
'I spoke to him around noon and everything was ok. His wife then tried to call him at about 4pm but there was no answer. She couldn't get hold of him.'
He added: 'I can say hand on heart that the man who drove into those people in the centre of Berlin was not my driver.
'This is my cousin. I've known him since I was born. My scenario is that they did something to the driver – they hijacked this vehicle because it was practically in the centre of Berlin and they had a good vehicle with which they could do what they did.
'It wasn't my driver, the one that was driving it. They did something to my driver, God forbid, something serious. It looks like that.'
Mr Zielinski is now being questioned by Polish police, according to local media.
More shoppers were thought to be have been trapped beneath the vehicle (pictured) as it crashed through stalls
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4049442/Terror-attack-fears-lorry-ploughs-Christmas-market-Berlin-leaving-two-people-dead.html#ixzz4TKxeE3sa
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