FX.co ★ Berlin tragedy: a lorry veers into shoppers at Christmas market

On December 19, a lorry smashed into a crowded Christmas market in Breitscheidplatz. Initially, the incident was not considered a terrorist attack, and the driver's motives were unclear. However, on Tuesday the German police announced that it was an act of terrorism. Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed this information. According to investigators, two men were sitting in the cabin at the moment of the attack. Some sources say that a refugee from Pakistan was in the driver's seat and a man next to him was found dead.

The attack killed 12 people and injured about 50 shoppers at the market.

Reportedly, the lorry laden with 25 tons of metal drove about 80 meters through the market.

The police was able to establish that the lorry belongs to a Polish logistics company based in Gdansk. It is unknown whether the driver and passenger of the truck were employed in this company. Importantly, reports say that at the moment when the truck arrived in Berlin, it was steered by a cousin of the company's owner Ariel Zurawski. However, after the lorry had come into the city, Mr Zurawski was unable to contact his driver.

The tragedy in Berlin has many aspects in common with the terrorist attack in Nice happened this summer. This incident also involved a truck smashing into a crowd of people gathered on the seafront to watch fireworks celebrating the Bastille Day. As a result, 86 people were killed.

Currently, the Berlin terrorist attack is under investigation.