A vehicle has ploughed into a busy Christmas market in Berlin.
Nine people have been killed and up to 50 injured by the truck, confirm German police.
In a statement on Twitter, Police Berlin tweeted: ‘We can confirm 9 deaths & many others injured.’
The driver of the vehicle has been apprehended, while German police say ‘many’ officers are attending the scene to establish what happened.
Citing police sources on the ground, German media are reporting that early investigations indicate the incident was likely to be a deliberate attack on tourists and other civilians at the Christmas market.
‘I heard a big noise and then I moved on the Christmas market and saw much chaos…many injured people,’ Jan Hollitzer, deputy editor in chief of Berliner Morgenpost, told CNN. ‘It was really traumatic.’
Police cars and ambulances rushed quickly to the scene as a huge security operation unfolded.
Emma Rushton, a tourist visiting Berlin, told CNN the truck seemed to be travelling at about 40 mph (65 Kmh).
Aerial images show the aftermath of the truck, which smashed into the market outside the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church this evening.
A photo posted by the Morgenpost showed damaged tables and stalls near the Kurfuerstendamm avenue in the west of the city.
The incident shares similarities of the attack in France in July when Tunisian-born Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a 19-tonne truck along the beach front, mowing down people who had gathered to watch the fireworks on Bastille Day, killing 86 people, reports metro.co.uk.
Police shot the driver dead in the Nice attack claimed by Islamic State.
