Lorry Crash Terrorist Attack'

A British eyewitness, Mike Fox, told Associated Press that the 25-tonne lorry had missed him by only about three metres as it smashed through stands and knocked down a large Christmas tree.

German police are investigating a "probable terrorist attack" after a man ploughed a lorry into a Christmas market in the heart of Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48.

The driver, reportedly a Pakistani asylum seeker who entered Germany last year, is being questioned.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it would be "particularly sickening" if he were proven to be a refugee.

He was reportedly known to police for minor crimes, but not terror links.

German media say police have searched a refugee shelter at a defunct Berlin airport where the suspect was believed to be staying.

In a short statement on Tuesday, Mrs Merkel said those behind the attack would be punished "as harshly as the law allows".

The market is at Breitscheidplatz, close to the Kurfuerstendamm, the main shopping street in Berlin's west.

The attack happened in the shadow of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was damaged in a World War Two bombing raid and preserved as a symbol of peace.

The truck, which was loaded with steel beams, veered into the market at 20:14 local time (19:14 GMT), one of its busiest times. It crashed through wooden huts and stands packed with tourists and locals.

The DPA news agency said police believe the lorry drove 50-80 metres (160-260 ft) through the market area.

German media have identified the suspect, citing security sources, as a 23-year-old Pakistani named Naved B.

Reports said special forces had stormed a hangar at Berlin's Tempelhof airport where they believed the suspect had been living in a shelter before the attack.

Police spokesman Winfried Wenzel said he was seized after leaving the lorry and fleeing on foot for more than a mile (2km) towards the Tiergarten, a large public park.

A witness who followed him called the police, who quickly detained the suspect near the Victory Column monument.

Police said a Polish man, believed to be the original driver, had been found dead on the passenger seat.

Ariel Zurawski, the Polish owner of the lorry, confirmed that his driver was missing and had been unreachable since 16:00 (15:00 GMT) on Monday.

"We don't know what happened to him," he told the AFP news agency. "He's my cousin, I've known him since I was a kid. I can vouch for him."

The truck was registered in Poland, but it is unclear whether it was travelling from Poland or returning from Italy, as some reports suggest.

"We are in mourning for the dead and hope that the many injured can get help," Chancellor Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said after the attack.

The interior ministry said Christmas markets in Berlin would remain closed on Tuesday.

A senior member of Germany's anti-immigration AfD party, Marcus Pretzell, blamed Mrs Merkel for the attack, linking it to her open-door migration policy which saw the arrival of more than one million people last year.