Berlin:

At least one person was killed and several others injured after a car drove into a crowd of people in the western German city of Mannheim, the German media reported on Monday, citing witnesses. A black SUV drove at high speed into people, knocking over several pedestrians in Planken, the main shopping street in the city of around 300,000, local outlet Mannheimer Morgen (MM) reported.

The vehicle was travelling from the centrally located Paradeplatz square towards the city’s landmark water tower, the Mannheim24 news website reported, adding that several people were severely injured.

German news website Bild reported the driver of the car has been arrested.

At least one person was killed in the incident, several reports quoted eyewitnesses as saying. However, authorities are yet to confirm any casualties.

The incident occurred as crowds gathered in cities across regions, including Germany’s Rhineland, for parades to mark the carnival season.

Local police said a rescue and relief operation was under way in the city centre. Police spokesman Stefan Wilhelm declined to provide details but said residents had been urged “to avoid the inner city area” after the emergency sparked a large-scale police operation.

Security has been a key concern in Germany following a string of violent attacks in recent weeks, including deadly car rammings in Magdeburg in December and in Munich last month, as well as a stabbing in Mannheim in May 2024.

Police were on high alert for this year’s carnival parades after social media accounts connected to the Islamic State terrorist group called for attacks on the events in Cologne and Nuremberg.

The new just weeks after a car drove into a crowd of people in Munich, killing a 37-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter. Farhad Noori, an Afghan asylum seeker, was arrested for the car attack.