3 killed as van ploughs into crowd in Germany
BERLIN: A van crashed into a crowd on Saturday outside a popular bar in the western German city of Muenster, killing three people and injuring 20 others, police said. Police spokesman Andreas Bode told reporters the driver killed himself after the crash. He said the driver’s identity was not yet known and that it was too early to speculate about his motive. He also said six of the 20 injured people were in severe condition. Police is also checking reports that other perpetrators may have fled from the site.
BERLIN : A van crashed into a crowd on Saturday outside a popular bar in the western German city of Muenster, killing three people and injuring 20 others, police said.
Police spokesman Andreas Bode told reporters the driver killed himself after the crash. He said the driver’s identity was not yet known and that it was too early to speculate about his motive. He also said six of the 20 injured people were in severe condition.
Police is also checking reports that other perpetrators may have fled from the site.
It asked residents to “avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub” in the city’s historic downtown area where a large-scale police operation was underway.
Police said a suspicious object was found in the van and they’re still examining it to see if it is dangerous. They told German news agency DPA that the object was the reason why a large area around the scene was sealed off after the crash.
Muenster Mayor Markus Lewe said the reason for the crash was still unclear.
German news Television N-TV showed a narrow street sealed off with red-and-white police tape.
Dozens of ambulances were waiting near the cordoned-off downtown area. Helicopters were flying overhead.
Muenster, a major university city, has about 300,000 residents and an attractive city centre rebuilt after World War 2.
Lino Baldi, who owns an Italian restaurant in Muenster near the scene of the crash, told Sky TG24 that the city centre was packed due to a Saturday market and summer-like temperatures.
The incident came one year to the day after a truck attack in Stockholm that killed five people, and also evoked memories of a December 2016 truck attack in Berlin that killed 12 people.