The owner of a small firm in Poland who owns the truck used in the deadly Berlin terror attack of Christmas 2016 asked for his vehicle back on Saturday.

Ariel Zurawski told Polish TV station TVN24 he was facing bankruptcy if he did not get his Scania truck back from German authorities.

The truck was still being held by German police as evidence in the attack on the market that killed 12 people. Once Germany releases the truck it will be handed to Polish authorities for further investigation.

Uninsured against terror

Zurawski told the TV station that the truck and its load were not insured for terror attacks and creditors were holding him liable for losses.

"I do not even know the full value of the load (construction material), since no one wants to give it to me because it's a trade secret," he said.

The truck was carrying 25 tonnes (28 tons) of metal materials for an Austrian construction firm. The beams were delivered last week but had rusted and become unusable, Zurawski said.

He later told German daily "Berliner Morgenpost" that he had already canceled an order for a new truck. "I really do not know what will happen to me financially," Zurawski said.

Zurawski's cousin Lukasz Urban was the first victim of the attack, when terrorist Anis Amri shot him dead and stole his truck.

On his Facebook page Zurawski repeated his request for people to stop donating money to him, saying he did not want to become a charity recipient.

aw/jm (dpa, EFE)