Two dead, several injured as car hits crowd in Germany's Mannheim
Two people have died and several were injured after a car drove into a crowd in the south-western German city of Mannheim, security sources said on Monday.
According to information obtained by dpa, the alleged driver, a German national, was detained and is now in hospital with injuries. The police do not assume there were other perpetrators involved.
A dpa reporter at the scene witnessed at least one person being covered by a sheet amongst the debris.
The police said the incident occurred at the Paradeplatz square in the city centre and that an investigation was in full swing.
It initially remained unclear whether the incident was caused by an accident or an attack. The police called on people to avoid the city centre.
According to witnesses, a vehicle sped down Planken street, a major shopping street leading past the square, hitting several pedestrians near Paradeplatz.
A Carnival market including dozens of food stalls and rides had been set up along Planken street as Germany marks the Carnival season.
Psychological counselling is being provided on site for those who need it.
Mannheim University Hospital said it has implemented a disaster and emergency plan to prepare to care for injured people. Two adults and one child are currently reportedly being treated with high medical priority.
The incident comes as Germany reels from a string of deadly attacks in recent months, including at a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg in December, where six people were killed when a man drove a vehicle into the crowd.
Last month, a man drove a car into a group of demonstrators in Munich, killing a woman and a child.
Mannheim itself was the scene of an attack only last year, when a suspected Islamist stabbed five participants at a rally organized by the Islam-critical Pax Europa movement in the city centre. A police officer later succumbed to his injuries.
Mannheim, a city of some 320,000, is located about 80 kilometres south of Frankfurt.
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