A car hits a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Germany; Officials say at least one person was killed and dozens injured

At least one person was killed and dozens injured after a car entered a crowded Christmas market in what authorities suspect was an attack, the deputy mayor of the German city of Magdeburg said on Friday.

The German News Agency (DPA), citing unidentified government officials in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, reported that the driver of the car had been arrested. Regional government spokesman Matthias Schube and city spokesman Michael Reif said they suspected it was a deliberate act.

Reeve said there were “many wounded,” but did not give a specific number.

He added: “The pictures are terrible.” He added: “My information is that a car ran over visitors to the Christmas market, but I cannot yet determine the direction or distance.”

The University Hospital in Magdeburg said it was caring for between 10 and 20 patients but was preparing to receive more.

A spokesman for the local rescue service told AFP that between 60 and 80 people were injured.

The sounds of sirens from first responders collided with the market’s holiday decorations, including tinsel, stars and paper garlands adorning vendors’ booths.

Footage from the site of the cordoned-off part of the market showed debris on the ground.

“This is a terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas,” said Saxony-Anhalt Governor Rainer Haselof. Haselov told the German news agency that he was on his way to Magdeburg but could not immediately provide any information about the victims or the cause of the accident.

Young Chancellor Schultz Published on X“My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives. We stand with them and the people of Magdeburg.”

Magdeburg, located west of Berlin, is the capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt and has a population of about 240,000.

The suspected attack comes eight years after the attack on a Christmas market in Berlin. On December 19, 2016, an Islamic extremist Plowed through a busy Christmas with a truckAs a result, 13 people were killed and dozens injured. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Italy.

Christmas markets are a huge part of German culture as an annual holiday tradition cherished since the Middle Ages and successfully exported to much of the Western world. In Berlin alone, more than 100 markets opened late last month, bringing smells of mulled wine, roasted almonds and sausages to the capital. Other markets abound throughout the country.

German Interior Minister Nancy Weisser said late last month that there were no concrete indications of a risk to Christmas markets this year, but it was wise to be vigilant..

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