This is the poignant moment FC Magdeburg players stood in silence and solidarity with the fans, despite a huge win over their opponents, when news of a horrific attack on the Christmas market that left at least one person dead and dozens injured , flowed into the stadium.
FC Magdeburg recorded a 5-2 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Friday evening, but after the final whistle there were no cheers or celebrations, only silence.
Screens in Düsseldorf’s Merkur Spiel-Arena, which seats 54,000 fans, showed a message relaying the news that a car had rammed into a group of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday evening, killing at least one person was left behind. person dead and almost 70 people injured. Fifteen are believed to be seriously injured.
The driver of the car, reportedly a dark BMW, was arrested today at 7:04 p.m. after the crash, according to unidentified government officials in the state of Saxony-Anhalt who spoke to news agency dpa.
Ten minutes before the end of the match, the stadium screens in Düsseldorf read: ‘A car drove into a group of people at the Christmas market in Magdeburg. The stands have therefore stopped supporting the game,” Bild reports.
At the end of the match, the players went straight to their dressing rooms and did not speak to the media.
Fortuna striker André Hoffmann later said: ‘I received some information in the second half. It is clear that football immediately takes a back seat. There are more important things. I would like to express our condolences on behalf of everyone.”
Schalke player Ron Schallenberg added that his thoughts were on Magdeburg, saying: “Now football takes a back seat.”
This is the poignant moment FC Magdeburg players stood in silence and solidarity with the fans despite a huge victory, as news of a horrific attack on the Christmas market filtered into the stadium
The players were stunned by reports that at least one person was killed, dozens injured, after a car plowed into a crowd at the Christmas market in their home city of Magdeburg.
The driver of the car, said to be a dark BMW, was arrested following the accident which occurred at 7.04pm today.
According to emergency services, who set up tents to provide immediate treatment to victims, several people were ‘severely’ injured.
Video footage too graphic to share shows the dark car crashing into the dense crowd, leaving dozens of people lying on the ground.
Within seconds we see scores of revelers fleeing for their lives after the crash.
Separate footage showed children crying loudly as several small crowds formed over those injured in the crash in apparent attempts to help them.
A man who spoke to German newspaper Mitteldeutsche Zeitung said the Christmas market has been turned into “war-like conditions”, while another eyewitness told the newspaper that numerous families were in the market’s “fairytale area” when the car was driven through the crowd collided. .
Local police said on
The Magdeburg Christmas Market is located on the Old Market, right next to the Magdeburg Town Hall, near the River Elbe, and was closed by the organizers after the incident.
Organizers have also asked people to leave the city center. Neighboring towns, including Halle, about 80 kilometers from Magdeburg, are preparing their hospitals to receive victims.
Ten minutes before the end of the match, the stadium screens in Düsseldorf read: ‘A car drove into a group of people at the Christmas market in Magdeburg. The stands have therefore stopped supporting the game’
At the end of the match, the players appeared distraught before heading straight to their dressing rooms without speaking to the media
At least one person is believed to have died in the crash
A car plowed into a group of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, injuring between 60 and 80 people.
Magdeburg, west of Berlin, is the capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt and has approximately 240,000 inhabitants
The horror crash comes less than a month after German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that while there were no concrete indications of a danger to the Christmas markets this year, it was wise to be vigilant.