‘Several hurt’ as car rams into Germany carnival procession

BERLIN: Several people were injured Monday when a car drove into a carnival procession in central Germany, police said, adding that the driver had been arrested.

A spokeswoman for police in the town of Volkmarsen where the incident took place told AFP "it is too soon" to say whether the driver ploughed into the crowd on purpose. "According to first reports, several people have been injured," police from nearby Kassel city said in a statement. "There is a large police presence at the scene. The driver of the car was detained by a police officer."

The local Waldeckische Zeitung daily cited witnesses as reporting that some 15 people were injured, "including small children". Pictures from the scene showed police officers and rescue vehicles next to a silver Mercedes hatchback with its doors open, having apparently come to a halt outside a REWE supermarket. A pile of debris is seen on the side of the road next to the car, including a knocked-over traffic cone and bottles of sparkling wine. Several dozen people are seen milling around on the sidewalk, many in colourful costumes.

In many parts of Germany residents are celebrating Rose Monday, a highlight of the annual carnival festivities that sees adults and children alike dress up and attend parades where people play music and throw candies from floats. The incident comes as Germany is still reeling from a shooting spree in the city of Hanau, in the same German state of Hesse, that left 10 people dead last Wednesday.

The gunman, who left behind a racist manifesto, first opened fire at a shisha bar and a cafe in Hanau, killing nine people, before shooting dead his mother and himself.