A police officer walks at the site where a car drove into a crowd at a Magdeburg Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany Dec 21, 2024. [Photo/Agencies]
BERLIN - At least five people were killed and over 200 others injured after a car rammed into a large crowd at a German Christmas market in the central German city of Magdeburg Friday evening, German news agency dpa reported Saturday, citing State Premier Reiner Haseloff.
"We have five deaths and over 200 injuries, many of them serious and severe," Haseloff said, noting that the toll was far worse than initially thought when the incident occurred.
A car plowed through a Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday evening. German authorities are investigating a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who has been living in Germany since 2006 and worked in a nearby town. Police searched his home overnight.
The identities of the fatalities have not been revealed. A memorial service is to be held in Magdeburg's cathedral at 7 pm (1800 GMT) Saturday night.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other top officials, including Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser, have arrived in Magdeburg on Saturday.
Faeser ordered Saturday morning that all flags at all federal buildings be flown at half-mast nationwide.
