Dozens hurt as car rams into parade

Children among victims, authorities seeking to determine cause of incident

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: A car that rammed into a carnival procession in central Germany on Monday injured 52 people, including 18 children, police said, adding that the perpetrator’s motive remains unclear.

“Among the children.

“At present 35 are still undergoing

victims

are 18 treatment at a hospital and 17 have been discharged,” police in Hesse state posted on Twitter yesterday.

A 29-year-old local man ploughed his car into the traditional “Rose Monday” carnival procession in the small Hessian town of Volkmarsen, drawing a massive response from police and emergency services.

The incident came just days after a gunman killed nine people with migrant backgrounds in Hanau, also in Hesse, prompting fears of a repeat attack.

Henning Hinn, a police spokesman, said officials are working “on the assumption that it was a deliberate act”.

“There were several dozen injured, among them, some seriously and sadly, also children,” Hinn said, adding that some of the injuries were life-threatening.

But authorities have stopped short of calling the carnival incident an attack, saying the driver was himself injured and could not be questioned immediately after he drove into the crowd.

Meanwhile, authorities yesterday seek to determine the motives of the driver.

Investigators said the German driver had not been drunk at the time of the incident, but could not yet rule out that he was under the influence of drugs, national news agency DPA said.

Officials cancelled all carnival parades across the state on Monday, while a children’s procession was called off yesterday in Wiesbaden.

Eyewitnesses described how the man ploughed his silver Mercedes at high speed through a barrier and into crowds at the parade.

“There were 15 people lying on the ground when I arrived, including many small children,” local journalist Elmar Schulten told daily Bild.

As in many parts of the country, residents in Volkmarsen were celebrating Rose Monday, a highlight of annual carnival festivities that sees adults and children dress up, and attend parades where people play music and throw candies from floats. – Agencies