A vehicle drove into crowds gathered in Berlin’s Tiergarten park during the city’s Christopher Street Day Pride celebrations on Saturday evening, killing one person and injuring several others, as police launched a manhunt for the driver, who reportedly fled on foot.
A driver has ploughed into a crowd near Berlin’s Pride celebrations, leaving one person dead and several others injured, Berlin police have confirmed. According to Bild, the incident took place in Tiergarten Park, close to the Brandenburg Gate, shortly before 10pm local time on Saturday, after hundreds of thousands of people had taken part in the day’s Christopher Street Day march, one of Europe’s largest Pride events. Police said they believed a vehicle had entered the park and struck several people, and confirmed an intensive search was under way for the driver.
What happened
In a statement, Berlin police said: “We believe that a vehicle entered the Tiergarten park and hit several people and injured them. We are searching intensively for suspects.” Witnesses described the vehicle involved as a white van, though police have not officially confirmed the type of vehicle used. Some eyewitnesses said the driver fled the scene on foot immediately after striking the crowd, prompting the ongoing manhunt.
The number and severity of injuries were not immediately clear following the incident. Emergency services declared a mass casualty incident and deployed large numbers of police officers, firefighters, paramedics and emergency doctors to treat the injured and manage the scene.
Celebrations cut short
Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered peacefully across Berlin earlier in the day for the annual Christopher Street Day celebrations before the incident brought the festivities to an abrupt end. Organisers cancelled the remainder of the event following the crash and instructed attendees to leave the area calmly.
Police issued an urgent public warning for people to avoid the Tiergarten area while the major emergency operation and search for the driver continued. Authorities have not yet confirmed a motive for the incident and have urged the public to refrain from speculation while the investigation remains ongoing.
