BERLIN, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- A lorry ploughed into a crowd at a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday night, killing nine people and injuring many others, Berlin police announced via Twitter.
The truck drove over the sideway at Breitscheidplatz, a major public square near the location of the iconic Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, in the inner city of Berlin, the police tweeted.
According to the police, the passenger of the truck died on the spot, while a suspicious person was arrested near Breitscheidplatz following the incident. "Whether it is the driver of the truck, is currently under consideration," the police tweeted.
The police have also called on citizens in Berlin to stay at home and not to spread rumors.
The background of the incident is still unclear, the police added.
"We mourn the dead and hope that many injured people can be helped," German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert tweeted on Monday night.
A series of attacks occurred in Germany in this summer, raising concerns over the safety of the country in the fallout of refugee influx in recent years.
