Information about 11 victims of the attack is yet to be released, with Polish lorry driver Lukasz Urban the only one named officially

Łukasz Urban

The 37-year-old Polish national, who was found dead in the truck that was used to kill visitors to the market in Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz, was described by Poland’s prime minister, Beata Szydło, as “the first victim of this heinous act of violence”.

He was the registered driver of the truck and was described by Łukasz Wąsik, the manager of the trucking company, as a “good, quiet and honest person” devoted to his work. “I believe he would not give up the vehicle and would defend it to the end if attacked,” Wąsik said in comments aired by TVP, Poland’s state broadcaster.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Polish lorry driver Łukasz Urban. Photograph: @TomaszBorysiuk

Urban is believed to have called his wife at 3pm. By 3.45pm his truck, tracked by GPS, was behaving erratically. Ariel Żurawski, the victim’s cousin and owner of the trucking company, told local media that GPS showed the truck’s movements every 10 minutes. “The whole route was shown. The vehicle was illuminated and it started to move backwards and forwards. It was like whoever was in charge was being taught to drive,” he said. “Later, at 7.40pm, there was no movement, and the vehicle stood still in the same place. Then it started to move.” The attack occurred at 8pm local time.

Citing anonymous investigators, the German tabloid Bild reported that Urban had been shot after the truck came to its final standstill, and may have fought with the driver until the moment the vehicle ploughed into a row of booths at the Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz.

Żurawski said he had been asked to identify the body of the driver. “His face was swollen and bloodied. It was really clear that he was fighting for his life,” he told the broadcaster TVN.

Fabrizia Di Lorenzo

The 31-year-old Italian national, who had lived and worked in Berlin for several years, is believed to have died in the attack.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fabrizia Di Lorenzo is feared to have died in the attack. Photograph: Twitter

She worked for a German logistics company and was a former Erasmus student. She had graduated from the Catholic University in Rome and received a master’s degree in international and diplomatic relations from the University of Bologna.

The Italian website Repubblica reported that family members had travelled to Berlin to submit DNA samples in order to identify her.



Fears for her safety were first raised on Tuesday morning when she did not turn up to work. Her father, Gaetano, told the Ansa news agency: “From what my son tells me from Berlin, there can’t be any more doubt … We’re waiting for confirmation, but I have no illusions.”

Dalia Elyakim

An Israeli woman, Dalia Elyakim, has also been identified as being among the victims, according to Israel’s foreign ministry. Elyakim was visiting Berlin with her husband, Rami, who was seriously wounded in the attack but is now stable.

The couple, in their 60s, are from the central Israeli city of Herzliya. They “loved to travel, especially around Christmas time,” said Moshe Egoz, a longtime friend. Egoz, who said he had been following their trip to Berlin through her posts on Facebook. Elyakim was a “good soul”, he said.

Nada Cizmar

Nada Cizmar Photograph: Facebook

The Czech Foreign Ministry has confirmed that Cizmar was among the victims of Monday’s terrorist attack in Berlin. She lived and worked in the German capital and since 2014 had been employed by a logistics company there, according to her Facebook profile. Her husband, Petr, reported her missing after the attack and provided DNA samples.

On Facebook he wrote: “After thee days of uncertainty and doubts and in a great sadness, I must inform all relatives and friends, that my wife Nada Cizmar is one of the victims of the Monday’s terrorist attack in #Berlin.”

Cizmar was the mother of a five-year-old boy.

At a press briefing in Prague, foreign minister Lubomír Zaorálek said he was deeply sorry at the news.



“This is the first time that a Czech has died in a terrorist attack in Europe, in a terrorist attack so close to home. We are doing everything possible to help her husband in Germany and support her family in this difficult time,” he said. “And I want to assure the public that the government is doing everything in its power to prevent such atrocities on Czech territory, we are doing everything possible to keep this country safe.”

Berlin is a two hours’ ride away from the Czech border and visited by thousands of Czechs around Christmas time.