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A lorry has crashed into a Christmas market in the German capital of Berlin, sparking fears of a terror attack.

Police in Berlin believe it was a terrorist attack on the market at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, killing at least nine people and injuring at least 50 others.

One witness said the lorry showed no signs of slowing down and there was no attempt to break as it careered towards the market.

The vehicle used may have been a Polish registered vehicle which may have been hijacked.

Eyewitnesses report that the driver of the lorry ran away from the scene but police have now arrested the driver while a second person in the cab died during the crash.

Berlin Mayor Michael Müller said: "What we are witnessing here is dramatic.

“My thoughts are with the families, who are grieving over someone dead or injured.”

(Image: Fabrizio Bencsh/Reuters) (Image: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)

At the time, the market would have been full of people enjoying the festive season, with Christmas markets in the country a huge source of tourism in the country.

British tourist Emma Rushton, who was at the market at the time, said: “It wasn’t an accident. The truck was going at 40mph through the middle of the market. There are two main roads on either side.

“There was no way it could have come off the road and it showed no signs of slowing down.

“We were about eight feet away from where it happened.

“We’d never been to Berlin before and decided to wander down to the Christmas market for some mulled wine.

“It was lovely - but then we heard a loud bang and then we saw the vechile going through people and stalls and dragging Christmas lights and everything else down. It was very difficult to be there.

“We were very lucky in that we were in little booths up stairs at the market - had we been downstaairs next to the stalls we would have been caugt up in it.

“There was lots of screaming and yelling. The stall that we bought our mulled wine from was completely crushed People were ripping off panels to get people out. We just wanted to make sure we were safe. It was horrible.”