Suspected terrorist attack on Christmas markets in Berlin

• A truck has crashed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Berlin
• Reports say at least nine people are dead and 50 injured
• Lorry co-driver dead, another man arrested near the scene
• The tragedy has parallels with a terrorist attack in Nice in July, where a truck drove into a beach-front crowd
• The crash is being investigated as a terrorist attack

A truck has ploughed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing nine people and injuring up to 50 others, police say.

German media, citing police at the scene, said first indications pointed to an attack on the market, situated at the foot of the ruined Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, which was kept as a bombed-out ruin after World War II.

The truck careered into the Berlin market at what would have been one of the most crowded times for the Christmas market, when adults and children would be gathering in the traditional cluster of wooden huts that sell food and Christmas goods.

Police cars and ambulances converged quickly on the scene as a huge security operation unfolded. The fate of the driver of the truck was not immediately clear, but Bild newspaper said he was on the run.

Emma Rushton, a tourist visiting Berlin, told CNN the truck seemed to be travelling at about 65km/h.

Asked how many were injured, she said that as she walked back to her hotel, she saw at at least 10.

Julian Reichelt, editor in chief of Bild Berlin, said that there was currently a massive security operation underway.

"The scene certainly looks like a reminder of what we have seen in Nice," Reichelt said.

Witness Emma Rushton tweeted: "People crushed. I am safe. I am safe," CNN reported.

- NZ Herald