`Terror` stalks Berlin Christmas market as dozens killed and injured in deadly ambush

Police say a lorry that ploughed into crowds at an international Christmas market killing 12 people and injuring 48 is likely to have been a “terrorist attack”.

Berlin Police and security services believe the truck was “intentionally” steered into locals and tourists at the packed Breitscheidplatz market in the German capital`s city centre on Monday evening (December 19).

While the German authorities have resisted describing the incident as terror related, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said there are many things “pointing towards one.”

“All police measures related to the suspected terrorist attack at Breitscheidplatz are progressing at full steam and with the necessary diligence,” Berlin Police said on Twitter.

Another message added: “Our investigators assume that the truck was intentionally steered into the crowd at the Christmas market,”

The driver of the lorry, thought to be either an Afghan or Pakistani asylum seeker, is said to have arrived in Germany in February as a refugee. He was detained by police after fleeing the scene.

A passenger, a Polish national, was found dead in the lorry cab – leading to fears that the truck was hijacked. Haulier owner Ariel Zurawski confirmed that his cousin – the original driver of the vehicle – had been missing for some hours.

A police spokesperson said the Scania lorry had Polish number plates and that the lorry had been stolen. “This appears to have been a deliberate attack,” he said.

The truck, which was loaded with steel beams, smashed into crowds gathered around brightly lit market stalls surrounding the city’s landmark Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church close to Berlin’s Kurfurstendamm boulevard shortly after 9pm.

Eyewitnesses said injured victims lay bloodstained on the ground while others fled the scene in panic after the lorry struck, driving at a speed of some 40 mph. More victims were buried under collapsed wooden market stalls.

After the lorry came to halt, its driver ran away and was followed by an eye witness for more than a mile. Police detained the suspect near the city`s Victory Column monument.

British eyewitness Mike Fox told The Associated Press that the truck had missed him by about three metres.

“It was definitely deliberate,” said the tourist, visiting from Birmingham.

He said he had seen people trapped under stalls and others who appeared to have broken limbs.

“It happened so fast that there was nothing we could do to stop it – if we`d tried to stop it we would have been crushed,” he added.

Authorities in Berlin were already on high alert for a potential terrorist attack, with festive gatherings the subject of heightened security.

The possibility of Christmas markets being targeted has also been noted in the UK – with Birmingham reportedly constructing concrete barriers at the entrances to the city`s annual German Christmas market.