One killed and scores reportedly injured after car drives into German Christmas market – latest updates

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City spokesperson Michael Reif said he suspects it was a deliberate act, adding there are “numerous injured” and that the “pictures are terrible”.

“My information is that a car drove into the Christmas market visitors, but I can’t yet say from what direction and how far,” Reif added.

'At least 70 people injured, 15 of whom with serious injuries'

The attack has left one person dead and 70 injured, 15 of whom with severe injuries, MDR is reporting citing city officials.

Police suspect there was an explosive device in the vehicle that ploughed into a crowd at the Christmas market, broadcaster MDR is reporting.

Foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said the attack left her “shaken”.

In a statement on X, Baerbock wrote: “The pictures from Magdeburg leave me deeply shaken. For the families and friends who wanted to spend time together at the Christmas market nothing is as it was before. My deepest sympathies are with the victims and their loved ones. I want to thank the emergency crews and helpers.”

Emergency services at the scene of the attack at an Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday. Photograph: Heiko Rebsch/AP

It is unclear if the suspected attacker was acting alone, according to local broadcaster MDR.

One person has been arrested, authorities said.

MDR also reports the car used by the attacker was still at the market. It reportedly “drove at least 400 metres” into the crowd.

Germany deputy chancellor reacts to 'horrible' attack

Germany’s deputy chancellor, Robert Habeck, has reacted to the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg, saying it was “horrible news”.

“My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones,” he wrote on X.

He also thanked emergency services on the scene.

All hospitals are preparing for a mass casualty event, a security official said, adding that the initial assessment is this was an attack.

Chancellor Scholz says thoughts are with victims and families

Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said “the news suggests something bad” and that his thoughts are with “the victims and their families”.

On 19 December 2016, a truck driven by Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist links, crashed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Milan.

Dozens of people reported injured

About 60 to 80 people have been injured in the attack, according to the AFP news agency.

The state premier, Reiner Haseloff, who is on his way to the scene, said it is a “terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas”, broadcaster MDR reported.

Weihnachtsmarkt Magdeburg, the Christmas market where the attack took place, has posted on Instagram warning people to leave the market and allow emergency services to do their work.

Many police officers and emergency services are on site and the market manager had told people to leave the city centre, MDR reported.

Witnesses told the broadcaster that the car drove straight into the crowd at the market in the direction of the town hall.

The Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, has been closed as a result of the attack. Photograph: Dörthe Hein/AP

Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday where at least one person has been killed. Photograph: Dörthe Hein/AP

At least one person killed and several injured in Germany Christmas market attack

At least one person has been killed and several others injured after a car was driven into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Germany, according to local media reports.

The driver has been arrested following the incident in the city of Magdeburg, which is west of Berlin, News agency dpa said.

Public broadcaster MDR said at least one person had been killed.

Police said the market has been closed.