This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
Berlin truck crash: White House condemns 'apparent terrorist attack' at Christmas market – live
Berlin truck crash: White House condemns 'apparent terrorist attack' at Christmas market – live
(35 minutes later)
11.39pm GMT
23:39
Trump statement blames 'Islamist terrorists'
US president-elect Donald Trump has issued a statement on the events in Berlin, which he calls a “horrifying terror attack”:
Our hearts and prayers are with the loved ones of the victims of today’s 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.
German police have not yet confirmed whether the crash was deliberate, or attributed responsibility, but a White House statement earlier said it “appears to have been a terrorist attack”.
11.30pm GMT
23:30
Police: 45 wounded taken to hospitals
Rescue work at the site has concluded. The official death toll still stands at nine.
Police say 45 people have been taken to Berlin hospitals for treatment.
The fire department @Berliner_Fw endet their rescue work at #Breitscheidplatz. 45 partially heavily injured were brought to Berlin hospitals
11.29pm GMT
23:29
Police: truck 'stolen in Poland'
Berlin police have said they suspect the truck was stolen from a construction site in Poland. Investigations into what happened to the truck – and its driver – are ongoing.
They say a suspicious item that was earlier being investigated has been cleared as a sleeping bag,
11.23pm GMT
23:23
What we know so far
Claire Phipps
Updated
at 11.27pm GMT
11.15pm GMT
23:15
A number of videos have emerged showing the immediate aftermath of the truck ramming into the crowd at the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market.
One 10-minute video, which we’re choosing not to link to, shows bodies lying on the ground and the wreckage of market stalls. People are tending to the injured, with Christmas decorations and lights scattered around them. The person filming the video walks through the market, showing the path of wreckage, then the damaged truck, surrounded by police.
The 18-wheeler truck, which was towing a large trailer, has a smashed windscreen. The passenger in the truck (it is unknown what role, if any, they had in the incident) died in the crash. Ambulances and police surround the area.
Scene at the #Berlin Christmas market after semi truck plows into crowd. Several injured. pic.twitter.com/jG2L5uaLJZ
Updated
at 11.30pm GMT
11.04pm GMT
11.04pm GMT
23:04
23:04
The Berlin police just confirmed that there were steel beams on the “load plattform,” which we believe is a slightly garbled English translation for the truck’s trailer.
The Berlin police just confirmed that there were steel beams on the “load plattform”, which we believe is a slightly garbled English translation for the truck’s trailer.
#stateOfTheInvestigationThe truck at #Breitscheidplatz has a Polish license plate. There are steel beams on the load plattform.
#stateOfTheInvestigationThe truck at #Breitscheidplatz has a Polish license plate. There are steel beams on the load plattform.
Updated
at 11.43pm GMT
10.58pm GMT
10.58pm GMT
22:58
22:58
French president François Hollande tweeted his condolences to Germany:
French president François Hollande tweeted his condolences to Germany:
“I express my solidarity and compassion to Chancellor Merkel, to the German people and to the families of the victims of Berlin,” he wrote.
“I express my solidarity and compassion to Chancellor Merkel, to the German people and to the families of the victims of Berlin,” he wrote.
J'exprime ma solidarité et ma compassion à la Chancelière Merkel, au peuple allemand et aux familles des victimes de Berlin.
J'exprime ma solidarité et ma compassion à la Chancelière Merkel, au peuple allemand et aux familles des victimes de Berlin.
10.48pm GMT
10.48pm GMT
22:48
22:48
Kate Connolly
Kate Connolly
Mike Fox, a British tourist has just told N24 television channel that he had gone to the market and was drinking a glühwein (mulled wine) with his girlfriend when the lorry sped towards them. He said he saw nothing on the market place which would have prevented it from plowing into the market.
Mike Fox, a British tourist, has just told the N24 television channel that he had gone to the market and was drinking glühwein (mulled wine) with his girlfriend when the lorry sped towards them. He said he saw nothing that would have prevented it from ploughing into the market.
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
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
Updated
at 11.32pm GMT
10.42pm GMT
10.42pm GMT
22:42
22:42
Kate Connolly
Kate Connolly
The truck, manufacturer by Scania, is believed to have been loaded with steel when it left Italy for Berlin, which according to transport experts would have made it even more deadly.
The truck, manufacturer by Scania, is believed to have been loaded with steel when it left Italy for Berlin, which according to transport experts would have made it even more deadly.
10.36pm GMT
10.36pm GMT
22:36
22:36
Berlin police tweeted that they have blocked a nearby street to the Breitscheidplatz incident to “check a suspicious item.”
Berlin police tweeted that they have blocked a nearby street to the Breitscheidplatz incident to “check a suspicious item”.
The street it is referring to, Rankestrasse, runs directly to the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, which is where the truck ran into the Christmas market, leaving at least nine dead.
The street it is referring to, Rankestrasse, runs directly to the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, which is where the truck ran into the Christmas market, leaving at least nine dead.
Please bypass #Breitscheidplatz spaciously. Our colleagues currently block Rankestr. and check a suspicious item.
Please bypass #Breitscheidplatz spaciously. Our colleagues currently block Rankestr. and check a suspicious item.
10.31pm GMT
22:31
White House condemns 'what appears to have been a terrorist attack'
A statement from the White House condemns “what appears to have been a terrorist attack” in Berlin, and noting that the US government has been in touch with German officials and offers assistance as required.
The statement by National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price reads in full:
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. We send our thoughts and prayers to the families and loved ones of those killed, just as we wish a speedy recovery to all of those wounded. We also extend our heartfelt condolences to the people and government of Germany. We have been in touch with German officials, and we stand ready to provide assistance as they recover from and investigate this horrific incident. Germany is one of our closest partners and strongest allies, and we stand together with Berlin in the fight against all those who target our way of life and threaten our societies.
10.26pm GMT
22:26
German chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert tweeted that Merkel was in contact with the interior minister and mayor about the “shocking” news of the Christmas market truck crash.
“We mourn the dead and hope that the many people injured can be helped,” he wrote.
Entsetzliche Nachrichten vom #Breitscheidplatz. Kanzlerin #Merkel ist mit Innenminister und Reg. Bürgermeister im Kontakt. (1)
#Breitscheidplatz - Wir trauern um die Toten und hoffen, dass den vielen Verletzten geholfen werden kann. (2)
10.23pm GMT
22:23
Polish owner of Berlin truck says driver 'missing'
The Polish owner of the truck that plowed into the Berlin Christmas market killing at least nine people, confirmed to the AFP that his driver was missing.
“We haven’t heard from him since this afternoon. We don’t know what happened to him. He’s my cousin, I’ve known him since I was a kid. I can vouch for him,” transport company owner Ariel Zurawski told AFP.
Reuters reports that Zurawski fears the truck may have been hijacked. He said he last spoke with his cousin around noon. His cousin, the driver, told him he was in Berlin and was scheduled to unload the truck on Tuesday morning. The incident at the Berlin Christmas market took place on Monday evening.
Zurawki said that “they must have done something to my driver,” he told TVN24.
10.12pm GMT
22:12
Berlin correspondent Kate Connolly on the phenomenon of German Christmas markets:
Nothing epitomizes a German Christmas better than the Weihnachtsmarkt or Christmas Market. The most famous are in Nuremberg and Dresden, but Berlin alone boasts around 60 of them, and thousands of others take place between the end of November and Christmas, across the country, a reflection of how seriously Germans take their Christmas.
At a time of year when the cold can be biting the Christmas Market is an absolute respite from weary winter days, attracting young and old alike, from families to work colleagues for whom it’s a popular place to gather for a pre-Christmas drink.
Glühwein - literally ‘glowwine’ or mulled wine - is the staple drink. There’s also a Feuerzangenbowle or rum punch, involving pouring hot rum onto a spit of solid sugar until it melts. Hot chestnuts, ginger biscuits, roasted almonds, fried sausages and candied fruits are the main food on offer, along with stodgier fare such as kale and spicy sausage.
In lit up wooden stalls, craftspeople sell their wares - everything from bespoke brushes and sheep skin rugs to designer jewellry and artisan cheeses. There are tight quality controls to ensure the markets don’t become magnets for trashy rubbish.
The Christmas markets have become one of Germany’s most popular cultural exports of recent years, with market organizers selling their concepts to cities across Britain and the United States. In cities like Birmingham and Leeds, where German craftsmen are dispatched to build the wooden stalls, they have become firm events in the Christmas calendar over the past decade.
They have long been seen as a soft target for terrorists. Some in the city, such as the Gendarmenmarkt have set up tight security cordons in recent years and charge an entry fee, offering the promise of tightened security. Others like that on Breidtscheidtplatz, which is right in the centre of the main shopping boulevard in the western centre of the city, have boasted of their openness.
10.03pm GMT
22:03
If anyone you know is missing following the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market incident, Berlin police have a phone number available to call.
You miss someone?call: 030 54023 111#Breitscheidplatz
9.56pm GMT
21:56
Here are some photos from the scene:
9.53pm GMT
21:53
Summary
Just a recap of what we know so far:
9.48pm GMT
21:48
My colleague Kate Connolly has noted that the main website of Berlin tourism, Visit Berlin, offers an explanation of how what the Breitscheidtplatz market consists of:
You know it’s the festive season when the area around the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church starts smelling of roasted almonds, hot chocolate and mulled wine. More than 100 booths add a seasonal touch at this traditional Christmas market in the heart of City West.
Located on the festively decorated Breitscheidplatz between Kurfürstendamm and Zoologischer Garten, handmade crafts, Christmas decorations, winter clothing, children’s toys and lovingly crafted accessories are on display and ready to stuff your Christmas stocking.
There are also stands at the Christmas market at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church offering hearty Thuringian bratwurst, sweet waffles, candied fruit and nuts – the whole range of seasonal treats. Mulled wine and homemade eggnog is served in the warmth of the conservatories and pavilions.
The small carousels cause children’s eyes to light up and add a nostalgic charm to the market.
9.45pm GMT
21:45
Kate Connolly
From our Berlin correspondent:
The man who was the co-driver/passenger died in an ambulance.
The lorry was registered to a company in Szczecin, Poland. It was on its way back to Poland, having started its journey in Italy. It was due to unload in Berlin where the driver was due to have a break.
The head of the company has said the registered driver was his cousin. He’s said he’d put his hand in the fire that his cousin would not have been behind this attack. The strong suspicion is that the vehicle was hijacked at some point during its journey.
This post previously misnamed the city Szczecin.
Updated
Updated
at 10.44pm GMT
at 11.44pm GMT
9.43pm GMT
21:43
A Berlin photographer and social media news producer, Mischa Heuer, has been tweeting photos of how the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market looked like just one week ago.
The Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz is one of the major tourist attractions in #Berlin. This is what it looked like. pic.twitter.com/raR2P5iwXe
This is Breitscheidplatz a week ago. On the left corner of the photo that's where the truck plowed into the Christmas market. #Berlin pic.twitter.com/PSMWLWPdPh
This is the Breitscheidplatz a week ago. It's one of the most beautiful Berlin Christmas markets and popular among tourists. #Berlin pic.twitter.com/JrMQuvamBS
