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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/dec/19/berlin-truck-crash-christmas-market-live
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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
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| 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) | |
| 12.16am GMT | |
| 00:16 | |
| Witnesses at the Breitscheidplatz have been speaking of the moment the truck sped into crowds browsing the Christmas market. | |
| Australian Trisha O’Neill told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: | |
| We sat just behind the stall having a mulled wine and then all of a sudden there was a big boom. | |
| 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 … [there was] blood and bodies everywhere. | |
| People, including children and older people, weren’t moving. People were crying and I just burst into tears. All the police and ambulances came and we decided to walk away from the streets and go somewhere safe. | |
| I’m shaking and scared. It all just happened so fast. | |
| 12.01am GMT | |
| 00:01 | |
| Germany’s interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, has said he is not yet ready to call the incident at Breitscheidplatz an “attack” but added that there are indications that it was intentional. | |
| He told ARD television: | |
| I don’t want to use the word ‘attack’ yet at the moment, although a lot speaks for it. | |
| There is a psychological effect in the whole country of the choice of words here, and we want to be very, very cautious and operate close to the actual investigation results, not with speculation. | |
| 11.55pm GMT | |
| 23:55 | |
| The Polish company that owns the truck has said its driver is missing. Its transport manager, Lukasz Wasik, told AFP news agency that the driver is 37 years old and had been transporting Thyssen steel products from Italy to Berlin. | |
| The company where he was supposed to unload the products in Berlin was not able to receive them and told him to return on Tuesday morning. They told him to wait in Berlin somewhere. | |
| We lost contact with him around 3pm local time [2pm GMT]. We don’t know what happened – whether he was taken hostage, killed. We know nothing. We’re very worried about him. | |
| What a tragedy. | |
| 11.39pm GMT | 11.39pm GMT |
| 23:39 | 23:39 |
| Trump statement blames 'Islamist terrorists' | 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”: | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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”. | 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 | 11.30pm GMT |
| 23:30 | 23:30 |
| Police: 45 wounded taken to hospitals | Police: 45 wounded taken to hospitals |
| Rescue work at the site has concluded. The official death toll still stands at nine. | 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. | 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 | The fire department @Berliner_Fw endet their rescue work at #Breitscheidplatz. 45 partially heavily injured were brought to Berlin hospitals |
| 11.29pm GMT | 11.29pm GMT |
| 23:29 | 23:29 |
| Police: truck 'stolen in Poland' | 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. | 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, | They say a suspicious item that was earlier being investigated has been cleared as a sleeping bag, |
| 11.23pm GMT | 11.23pm GMT |
| 23:23 | 23:23 |
| What we know so far | What we know so far |
| Claire Phipps | Claire Phipps |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 11.27pm GMT | at 11.27pm GMT |
| 11.15pm GMT | 11.15pm GMT |
| 23:15 | 23:15 |
| A number of videos have emerged showing the immediate aftermath of the truck ramming into the crowd at the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market. | 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. | 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. | 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 | Scene at the #Berlin Christmas market after semi truck plows into crowd. Several injured. pic.twitter.com/jG2L5uaLJZ |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 11.30pm GMT | 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 | Updated |
| at 11.43pm GMT | 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 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. | 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 | Updated |
| at 11.32pm GMT | 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. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 11.44pm GMT | at 11.44pm GMT |