English Section

Polish foreign ministry offers sympathies after attack on German Christmas market

20.12.2024 22:30
Poland's foreign ministry expressed its sympathies after at least two people were killed and 60 others injured in a suspected terrorist attack in the German city of Magdeburg on Friday.
Emergency services at the scene of the attack in Magdeburg, Germany on Friday evening.
Emergency services at the scene of the attack in Magdeburg, Germany on Friday evening.Photo: EPA/FILIP SINGER

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and those who were injured in the attack in Magdeburg," the Polish foreign ministry said in an X message.

"It is appalling that a time of joyful holidays can be turned into a time of tragedy," it added.

Local officials said there were multiple casualties after a car drove into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in what appeared to be a deliberate attack.

Polish foreign ministry spokesman Paweł Wroński said there were no reports of Poles injured in the incident.

German police have arrested a doctor from Saudi Arabia who drove the car, the Reuters news agency reported, citing the premier of the state of Saxony Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff.

One of those who died was a small child, he said, according to Reuters.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered his condolences to the victims and their families.

"My thoughts are with the victims and their families," he wrote in a post on the X social media platform. "We stand with them and with the people of Magdeburg. I extend my gratitude to the dedicated rescue teams in these anxious hours."

Eight years ago, a truck driven by a Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist links crashed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others, Reuters reported.

(gs)

Source: Reuters, IAR, PAP