The suspect detained over the Berlin Christmas market incident in which at least 12 people died and 48 were injured has been named as a Pakistani refugee Naved B.

Police believe the man, named as "Naved B", arrived in Germany around one year ago, according to local media reports.

Special forces stormed the makeshift migrant camp at the Flughfen Tempelhof airport hangar where he was believed to live.

The German authorities have so far not described the incident as a terror attack, but speaking to reporters on Monday night, Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maiziere said there are many things "pointing towards one".

And security services have said they are treating the tragedy as deliberately intended to cause harm.

The Berlin market suspect was arrested around one mile (1.6km) away after allegedly fleeing the scene on foot.

He is not known to have any previous link to terror but has a history of petty crime, a German daily newspaper said.

The lorry, a large black Scania, smashed into crowds gathered around brightly lit market stalls surrounding the city’s landmark Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church close to Berlin’s Kurfurstendamm boulevard shortly after 8pm local time (9pm GMT) on Monday.

Eyewitnesses said injured victims lay bloodstained on the ground while others fled the scene in panic after the lorry struck, driving at a speed of some 40mph. More victims were buried under collapsed wooden market stalls.

“A lunatic has driven into the Christmas market. People are screaming. It’s carnage,” one distressed marketgoer told Germany’s Bild newspaper. It was the city’s worst 'attack' in more than a decade.

Police said one of the two drivers was found dead inside the vehicle’s cabin and was thought to have died of injuries sustained in the incident.

A police spokesman said the suspected co-driver’s identity was being checked. He said the Scania lorry had Polish number plates and that the lorry had been stolen. “This appears to have been a deliberate attack,” he said.

German television footage showed the entire Christmas market area sealed off by police as ambulance crews ferried bloodstained victims to hospital in the surrounding area.

Eyewitnesss Mike Fox from Birmingham, told the Associated Press that the lorry missed him by about three metres as it drove into the market, tearing through tables and market stalls.

“It was definitely deliberate,” he said, adding that he had helped people who appeared to have broken limbs and others trapped under Christmas stands.

The incident occurred at the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market, a focal point in west Berlin which stands next to the preserved remains of the city’s Second World War-bomb damaged Kaiser Wilhelm church. The site is a famous tourist attraction.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has been in contact with the interior minister and the mayor of Berlin. Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, tweeted: "We are in mourning for the dead and hope that the many injured can get help."

Mr De Maiziere told ARD television: "I don't want to use the word 'attack' yet at the moment, although a lot speaks for it."

He added that "there is a psychological effect in the whole country of the choice of words here, and we want to be very, very cautious and operate close to the actual investigation results, not with speculation."

Wolfgang Bosbach, an MP from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democratic party, said: “Although there is a host of unanswered questions, indications are it was a deliberate attack... just a few days before Christmas, in the middle of the German capital and amidst happy, peaceful people. The message is clear: no matter where, no matter how, we can pounce at any time.”

Berlin’s mayor, Michael Müller, said: “What we’re seeing here is dramatic and a shock to us all. We hope what our fears that this is an attack won’t prove true. Our thoughts are with the families of the injured.”

Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Show all 18 1 /18 Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Several people have been killed after a lorry drove into crowds at a Christmas market in Berlin REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch Berlin Christmas market lorry attack 'At least nine' people have been killed and more than 50 injured. AP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Emergency Services rush a Berlin market victim to an ambulance Associated Press Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Police cordoned off the square at Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church following the incident REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Rescue workers inspect the lorry that crashed into a Christmas market close to the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church in Berlin EPA Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Emergency crews inspect the lorry that ploughed into a Berlin Christmas market, killing at least nine people AFP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Fire crews attend the scene of the attack AFP/Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Armed police secure the site of a lorry attack at a Christmas market in Berlin REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Crushed debris is visible beneath the wheels of the vehicle REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack An injured man is pushed to an ambulance REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Medics attend an injured person after the lorry attack which killed at least nine and injured more than 50 people AFP/Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Firefighters examine the lorry which was rammed into a Berlin Christmas market REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack A person is carried into an ambulance REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack View of the lorry that crashed into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing at least nine and injuring at least 50 people AFP/Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Rescue workers push a person on a stretcher to an ambulance Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Firefighters assess the damage after the lorry rammed the Christmas market, killing 'at least nine', and injuring more than 50 people AP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Firefighters stand beside a toppled Christmas tree at the site of the suspected terrorist attack in a Berlin Christmas market AP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Damaged stalls at the scene of the incident at a Berlin Christmas market where at least nine people have been killed EPA

US President-elect Donald Trump condemned the suspected attack, saying in a statement: "Isis and other Islamist terrorists continually slaughter Christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad."

Unlike France, Britain and Spain, Germany has managed to escape a major terrorist attack during the past decade. But the country’s security services warn that the likelihood of an attack is ever present and have asked the public to remain vigilant.