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A car drove into a group of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, leaving at least one person dead and between 60 and 80 people injured. The driver of the car, reported to be a dark BMW, was arrested following the crash which took place at 7:04pm today, according to unidentified government officials in the state of Saxony-Anhalt who spoke to the dpa news agency.
Bild reported that the car was driven ‘at least 400m (1,300ft) across the Christmas market’, per a police spokesperson. According to emergency services, who have set up tents to immediately treat victims, several people were ‘severely’ injured.
Video footage too graphic to share appears to show the dark car careening into the dense crowd, leaving dozens of people lying on the floor. Within seconds, countless revelers can be seen fleeing for their lives in the wake of the crash. Separate footage showed children crying loudly as several small crowds of people formed over those injured in the crash, in apparent attempts to help them.
One man who spoke to German newspaper Mitteldeutsche Zeitung said the Christmas market has turned to ‘war-like conditions’, while another eyewitness told the newspaper that there were countless families in the ‘fairytale area’ of the market when the car crashed through the crowd. Local police said on X that ‘extensive police operations are currently taking place’, adding that further reports will be made shortly.
The Magdeburg Christmas Market is located on the Old Market, directly next to Magdeburg Town Hall near the River Elbe, and was closed by organisers following the incident. Organizers have also asked people to leave the city center. A spokesperson in the city said that all hospitals are ‘preparing for a mass casualty event.’
Neighboring cities, including Halle, around 50 miles from Magdeburg, are preparing their hospitals to take on victims. Halle is also stepping up its own security measures in the wake of the incident. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern in a post to X, writing: ‘ The reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.’
Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff said in the wake of the attack: ‘This is a terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas.’ Haselhoff is said to be traveling to the city to bear witness to the aftermath of the attack.
Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice-chancellor, said in a post to X: ‘What terrible news from Magdeburg, where people wanted to spend the Advent season in peace and community. ‘My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I thank all the emergency services on site who are doing everything they can to help and to clarify the background.’
CDU candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) wrote on X: ‘ This is very depressing news from Magdeburg. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I thank all emergency services who are caring for the injured on site.’ AfD leader Alice Weidel, meanwhile, wrote on the platform: ‘The images from Magdeburg are shocking! My thoughts are with the bereaved and injured. When will this madness end?’
Magdeburg, which is west of Berlin, is the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 240,000 inhabitants. The horror crash comes less than a month after Germany ‘s interior minister Nancy Faeser said that while there were no concrete indications of a danger to Christmas markets this year, it was wise to be vigilant.
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