Two dead including ‘small child’ and ‘up to 80 injured’ after car ‘ploughs into crowd’ at German Christmas Market
TWO people - including a small child - have died and up to 80 injured after a car ploughed into a crowd at a German Christmas Market.
Revellers celebrating the festive season in Magdeburg had their night turn to horror after a BMW driver struck people directly and threw them to the ground.
Footage captured a man being arrested at the scene soon after the tragedy.
The suspect is a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006, the state's prime minister said.
The man was not known to German authorities as an Islamic extremist, Germany's DPA news agency reported.
Some 60 to 80 people are thought to have been injured after the car drove 400-metre through the packed Christmas market, according to officials.
Witnesses said the ground was covered in blood and tinsel as doctors scrambled to treat the injured.
Officials believe the incident was a deliberate act and cops say they are not looking for any other suspects.
Two people, including a small child, were confirmed dead by Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Erich Haseloff.
Some 15 of the injured are in a serious condition, with city authorities confirming a total of 68 people were hurt.
Some of the injured are said to be in a critical condition with a huge number of emergency workers now at the scene.
The car - a black BMW SUV - crashed through the barriers protecting the market and drove into shoppers just after 7pm.
"We saw blood on the floor, we saw people sitting beside each other and having golden and silver foils around them.
"And we saw many doctors trying to keep people warm and help them with their injuries.
"Everywhere were ambulances, there were police, there were a lot of firefighters."
Paramedics quickly arrived at the scene and set up tents to take care of the injured.
Armed cops were stationed all around the area - with pictures showing people led away on stretchers.
Nadine, 32, said her boyfriend Marco, 39, was ripped out of her arms when he was hit by the car.
She told Bild: "He was hit and pulled away from my side. It was terrible.
"Nobody even screamed. You couldn't hear the car either.
Marco had injuries to his leg and head: "We don't know which hospital he went to. The uncertainty is unbearable."
The Christmas market posted to Instagram to ask people to stay away.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said reports "suggest something terrible is to come".
He said in a post on X: "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."
Scholz is set to arrive in Magdeburg tomorrow - just days after he lost a confidence vote in parliament.
Meanwhile UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on X: "I am horrified by the atrocious attack in Magdeburg tonight.
"My thoughts are with the victims, their families and all those affected. We stand with the people of Germany."
Matthias Schuppe, a government spokesman in the province of Saxony-Anholt, said it was an “attack” in comments to local media.
A spokesperson for local police said: “We do not yet know exactly what happened.”
Haseloff said: "This is a terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas.
"This is one of the worst things you can imagine."
Another Christmas market in Erfurt, Germany, has now been evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Star English footballer Harry Kane, who is playing for Bayern Munich, shared a tribute in a post on X.
He said: "Hearing news of the tragedy in Magdeburg puts things in perspective and on nights like this football isn’t what’s most important.
"My thoughts and condolences are with all those affected by the horrific tragedy.