One dead, 17 injured after car ploughs into pride parade crowd in Berlin

A peaceful celebration of diversity and inclusion turned into a scene of horror in central Berlin on Saturday evening when a car drove into a crowd attending the city’s largest Pride celebration, leaving one person dead and 17 others injured, including several in critical condition.

The incident unfolded during the Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade, a major annual LGBTQ+ rights event that drew tens of thousands of participants. According to Berlin police, shortly before 10 pm local time, the driver of a white vehicle rammed into the crowd, triggering panic and chaos among attendees.

Updating the casualty figures, Berlin Police said that 17 people had been injured, including one person who died and several others who sustained life-threatening injuries. Authorities also set up an information centre for relatives as emergency teams rushed to assist victims.

The celebration was immediately halted, and the area was sealed off as a large-scale emergency response operation began. Police officers, firefighters and medical personnel flooded the scene, providing urgent care to the injured and securing the area.

Witness accounts cited by German media suggested that some victims may have suffered stab wounds. Police said investigators were looking into whether the incident involved a second phase of violence after the vehicle struck the crowd. A search operation was launched to identify any possible additional suspects, while the motive behind the attack remained unclear.

Berlin’s governing mayor Kai Wegner condemned the incident as a brutal assault on the city’s values of openness and freedom. In a statement, he described the attack as a strike against a peaceful gathering celebrating tolerance and diversity.

"It is an attack on our free and open society," Wegner said, expressing solidarity with the victims, their families and friends. He praised emergency responders for their swift action and said he trusted security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation.

The CSD parade, known for its vibrant displays of equality, acceptance and human rights, had brought together thousands of people from across Germany and beyond before the tragic incident cast a shadow over the celebration.

With IANS inputs