'It was every man for themselves': Berlin attack witnesses describe horror

Witnesses caught up in the Berlin Christmas market attack today told of horrific scenes.

American tourists Luke, 21, and girlfriend Lara, 22, were on the other side of Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and heading to the targeted area when the attacker struck.

Luke said: “We started seeing people running and hearing ambulances from all directions so we walked over.

“It was carnage everywhere. There was blood all over the floor. There were people lying on the floor — I could count about eight lying down.

“The biggest mental image I have is there were two rivers of blood going down the floor. Nobody was really helping anybody. People were running.

"It was like every man for themselves. It was dusty and chaotic. There were ambulances and police sirens. People were yelling in German — it sounded like ‘Get out, get out, get out’.” Luke has booked flights out of Germany earlier than planned as the couple no longer feel safe.

Katarzyna Goebel, a 29-year-old PhD student studying in Berlin, told of the “most terrifying seconds of her life” as she drank mulled wine with a friend.

She said: “I heard this noise crashing like a hut had fallen down.

“I turned around and saw the roof of the truck coming towards me. The moment I saw it, I panicked and couldn’t think at all. When you live in Berlin you realise that stuff like this is probably going to happen one day, but you don’t think about it when you go shopping or nip for traditional wine with a friend on Monday evening.”

Vivian Hilse, 15, from Berlin, said: “I didn’t see the lorry but I heard it, I heard people screaming. We tried to run away but my best friend fell over and broke his leg.

“Everyone was running. We got in the ambulance and went straight to hospital. It is awful — you don’t feel safe in your own city.”