World

Berlin: At least nine dead after truck crashes into Christmas market

Berlin police say a truck has run into a crowded Christmas market in the centre of Berlin killing at least nine people, and causing multiple injuries.

Police said on Twitter that the truck rammed into the market outside the capital's popular Christmas market at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Monday evening.

Bild newspaper posted a picture of a large Scania truck with its windscreen smashed out on the pavement alongside the market.

The driver of the truck has been arrested and a passenger travelling in the vehicle died at the scene.

Police say they are still investigating whether the incident was an accident or an attack.

Witness Mike Fox said that the large truck missed him by only about three metres as it drove into the market, tearing through tables and wooden stands.

"It was definitely deliberate," said the tourist from Birmingham.

He said he helped people who appeared to have broken limbs, and that others were trapped under Christmas stands.

The Berlin police have appealed for people not to speculate on what happened.

The Irish embassy has said they are monitoring the situation.

White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said the incident appeared to be a terror attack.

In a statement, he said: "The United States condemns in the strongest terms what appears to have been a terrorist attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany, which has killed and wounded dozens."

He said the US had been in contact with German officials, and was ready to provide assistance as the nation investigated and recovered from the "horrific incident".

Meanwhile, the Polish owner of the truck, Ariel Zurawki, told TVN24 he feared the vehicle may have been hijacked and said "they must have done something to my driver".

The news comes after several people were reported wounded in a shooting at a mosque in Zurich.

The mosque is frequented largely by Somali immigrants in Switzerland's largest city, and the suspect remains at large, police said.

Police and ambulances swarmed to the scene near the city's rail station, blocked off a nearby road, and secured the Islamic Centre.

On Twitter, the Zurich police department said: "Large operation after shooting at mosque in the Eisgasse. Several injured. Perpetrator on the run."

It said the situation was under control and the wounded had been taken to hospital.

There were conflicting news reports about whether the shooting had taken place inside a prayer room itself, or outside.

A Zurich police official said the shooting occurred near the intersection of Militaerstrasse and Eisgasse streets.

Police told German-language daily Blick that three people had been injured.

Attacks by gunmen are rare in Switzerland. The country was shaken in 2013 by at least two multiple-fatality shootings.

The country has a long-standing tradition for men to keep their military rifles after completing compulsory military service - which partly explains a high rate of gun ownership in the country of about 8.2 million people.