Berlin Pride parade called off after car rams crowd, one killed

A car drove into a crowd near Berlin's Christopher Street Day parade, killing one person and injuring at least 15. The tragedy forced organisers to call off the pride event as police evacuated the area and searched for suspects.

In Short

• At least 15 people were injured, with several in critical condition
• Emergency crews rushed to Tiergarten park near the march route
• Police ordered crowds to leave and launched a suspect search

A car drove into a crowd during Berlin's LGBTQ+ parade on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least 15 others, police said. Some of those hurt had life-threatening injuries, and the event in the German capital was called off hours after it had begun.

Police said the car drove into Tiergarten park near the route of the pride march, hitting several people. Firefighters, ambulances and many emergency workers were sent to the scene, while police asked people to leave the area immediately and said a search for suspects was under way.

In a post on X, police called on everyone to leave the premises of the event immediately. They said they did not know how many officers had been deployed to the scene, but added that it was "definitely a lot of police". "We are conducting an intensive search for possible suspects," a police officer said in a short video released on the Berlin police account on X.

Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered in Berlin for the city's pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day, one of Europe's largest LGBTQ+ celebrations. Before the incident, people had been celebrating peacefully for hours, marching through the city, dancing to loud music and cheering the around 80 floats taking part in the parade.

The pride event in front of the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin was called off at around 10:15 pm, and a band's performance on stage was interrupted. People were urged to go home and avoid the route through Tiergarten park, bringing the day's celebrations to an abrupt end after the deadly incident.

With PTI Inputs

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