A driver has rammed their car into crowds at a Christmas market in the eastern German town of Magdeburg, with two people dead, according to the state premier.
Between “60 and 80 people” were injured in the incident on Friday (local time), a spokesperson for the local rescue service told the AFP news agency.
According to the emergency service, several people were “severely” injured in the crash.
The suspected driver of the car had been arrested, broadcaster MDR and other local media said on Friday (local time), citing a local government official.
German television showed ambulances and fire engines at the chaotic site, which was doused in blue light with sirens wailing, as badly injured people were being rushed off to hospitals and others were treated as they lay on the ground.
Cries and screams could be heard as dozens of police, medics and the fire service deployed to the litter-strewn market decorated with Christmas trees and festive lights.
“We presume it was an attack,” a spokeswoman for the interior ministry of Saxony-Anhalt state told the AFP news agency.
Eyewitnesses told the broadcaster that the car drove straight into the crowd at the market, in the direction of the town hall.
Emergency services on duty at the Christmas market in Magdeburg. Source: AAP / Dörthe Hein/DPA
A video published by newspaper Bild showed people trying to help what appeared to be multiple injured victims.
Magdeburg, which is west of Berlin, is the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 240,000 residents.
“The pictures are terrible,” said city spokesperson Michael Reif.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on X that “the reports from Magdeburg raise the worst fears”.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families. We stand by their side and by the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours.”
This is a developing story and this article will be updated. Follow the latest from SBS News at , or on the SBS News app available on iOS or Android.
