15 people hurt as car drives into crowd at German carnival
- Silver Mercedes drove into crowds celebrating carnival in Volkmarsen, Germany
- At least 15 people were left injured including children, local media reported
- Police said the driver was arrested at the scene but gave no further details
At least 15 people have been injured after a car drove into crowds at a German carnival celebration on Monday.
A silver Mercedes mounted the pavement in the town of Volkmarsen, 15 miles west of Kassel, around 2.30pm on Monday before ploughing into revellers.
Witnesses told news site HNA that the car had swerved around safety barriers before driving ‘full speed’ into the crowd and appeared to be targeting children.
Police said the car’s driver was arrested at the scene, but would not say whether they believe the incident was an accident or deliberate.
At least 15 people, including children, have been injured after a silver Mercedes (left) drove into crowds of people celebrating carnival in the German town of Volkmarsen on Monday
Police said the driver was arrested at the scene, but would not say whether they believe the crash was deliberate or an accident
The car drove about 100ft into the crowd and the driver was still accelerating when police pulled him from the vehicle, public broadcaster Hessenschau reported.
Dirk Richter, police spokesman in the nearby city of Kassel told Welt TV: ‘Everything we have available from the Kassel area is there.’
Video showed a silver Mercedes station wagon with local licence plates and its hazard lights blinking on the pavement, while emergency crews walked by.
Carnival is hugely popular in parts of western Germany, especially in Rhineland cities such as Cologne and Duesseldorf.
The car mounted the pavement around 2.30pm as crowds of people, including families with children, celebrated the annual Carnival Monday parade
Volkmarsen is a small town located in central Germany, around 15 miles from Kassel
Festivities peak on ‘Rose Monday’ with tens of thousands attending street parades featuring comical or satirical floats.
Carnival celebrations take place in Germany every year in the week before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent.
The incident comes a week after a far-right terrorist shot nine people dead, then killed his mother and himself in the German town of Hanau.
More to follow…