Berlin : “many reasons to think” that this is an attack – The World

The crowd was massed in front of the memorial church, to the west of the city centre of the German capital. Forty-five people were injured.

At least nine people dead, Monday, December 19, in the evening, after a truck rammed into the crowd of a Christmas market on the Breitscheidplatz in front of the memorial church, to the west of the city centre of the German capital, Berlin, has reported to the police in berlin on Twitter. There are also at least forty-five wounded, including four seriously.

The German minister of the Interior, Thomas de Maizière, said on the night of Monday to Tuesday, that there was ” a lot of reasons, “ to think that the driver of the truck had committed a bombing.

” I do not want for the moment to pronounce the word attack even though many of the reasons for the leave to think about it “, he said to the antenna of the public channel ZDF. the ” A suspect has been arrested and there are a lot of reasons to think that it is the driver “ of the truck that rammed into the crowd, the minister added preservative. the ” The investigation will determine the rest “, he said.

Read : Berlin), live : the driver suspected of the truck was arrested

• Two people in the truck

The police in berlin announced that there were two people in the truck. The passenger died on the spot. A second person suspected of being the driver, was arrested at around 21: 30. The driver of the truck drove over the sidewalk of this little market after 20 hours where there were onlookers in a very tourist district of Berlin, according to a spokesman of the police. A street has been transformed into a hospital, open to the sky, according to the Tagesspiegel.

police blocked access to the square and in the vicinity of the memorial church to care for and evacuate the wounded, but also declares that it ” there is no evidence suggesting that there are other sources of danger “ in the surrounding area. The underground station Zoo, a few steps from the place of the drama, is open and usable, according to the German newspaper Die Zeit. Armed police officers secure however the exits.

Facebook has also activated in the evening the safety check that allows internet users, on the occasion of an attack, inform their friends that they are safe. On their Twitter account, the forces of law and order in the capital called the Berlin ” to stay home and not spread rumours “. They also claim that ” respect the privacy of the victims “ and their families by not broadcasting images on social networks.

• ” A strange silence “

On the website of the German daily Berliner Morgenpost, a journalist arrived shortly after the truck was dark in the crowd says that a ” strange silence “ was hovering over the place enclosed by a red and white ribbon, while the injured enlaçaient, crying, or kissing.

Read also : A Berlin, “scenes of chaos” told by the witnesses

A blonde woman who could, in turn, barely speak between his tears tells the story : ” there was this loud bang. Then someone pulled me by the arm and I heard the cries. Right next to me, someone fell to the ground and I started to run. “

An old man explains, still in the Berliner Morgenpost, that he saw the truck move forward deliberately on the place, lights switched off, then hear the ” boum-boum “, ” and the hysterical screams “.

• A truck registered in Poland

The truck that was dark in the crowd is registered in Poland. It belongs to a Polish company, including the boss, Ariel Zurawski, who was interviewed by the Polish media, has explained that the vehicle had just returned from Italy and had to deposit his load in Berlin before returning to Poland. the ” The person who is out of the truck is not my driver “, said Mr. Zurawski in the Polish media.

The owner had entrusted his truck to his cousin. the ” there was no contact with him since this afternoon. I don’t know what happens to him. This is my cousin, I know him since childhood. I vouch for him “, said Ariel Zurawski, reached by telephone by the Agence France-Presse. The owner has ensured that his cousin was to discharge its cargo in Berlin, but that such discharge has not occurred.

• Angela Merkel “in mourning”

German chancellor Angela Merkel is ” in mourning “, announced her spokesman, Steffen Seibert. the ” We are in mourning and hope that the many casualties will be able to receive help “, he continued. The president of the federal Republic of germany Joachim Gauck said ” distraught “ : ” This is an evening terrible to Berlin and our country. “It’s very impressive, shocking, because we always had the hope that Berlin doesn’t have to live this situation “, said the mayor of Berlin Michael Müller.

the minister of justice, Heiko Maas, has announced that the investigation has been entrusted to the federal prosecutor, who is competent in Germany for cases of terrorism.

the president of the Republic, François Hollande, has informed in the evening that ” the French share in the grief of the Germans in the face of this tragedy, which affects all Europe “. The interior minister Bruno Le Roux has announced that the safety of the Christmas markets ” was immediately strengthened “. For their part, the United States condemned what ” seems to be a terrorist attack “.

Read also : The political world declares its solidarity with Berlin