At least 12 people were left injured, two critically, after an out-of-control electric car smashed into a crowd in Copenhagen.
An elderly man rammed his vehicle into over a dozen pedestrians, benches, and tables near the city’s iconic Queen Louise’s Bridge, according to Denmark’s emergency services.
Twelve people were reportedly involved in the horror collision, Jesper Frandsen, the head of the Copenhagen Police told TV2.
In a shocking scene likened to a ‘war zone’, the red car mounted the pavement around 3.30pm local time, ploughing into unsuspecting passers-by outside a popular café-lined stretch on Sortedam Dossering.
Eyewitnesses described bloodied victims strewn across the street as emergency services raced to the scene.
According to Copenhagen Police, three people remain in critical condition, after first responders desperately worked to save lives in the immediate aftermath.
Seven ambulances and an equal number of police cars descended on the area within minutes of the mayhem, after panicked calls flooded emergency lines.
One dramatic image shared on social media showed a mangled red car stopped across the road, flanked by ambulances and shattered debris.
An elderly man rammed his vehicle into over a dozen pedestrians, benches, and tables near the city’s iconic Queen Louise’s Bridge, according to Denmark’s emergency services
Police and rescue workers operate at Sortedam Dossering, where a car drove into a crowd
Seven ambulances and an equal number of police cars descended on the area within minutes of the mayhem, after panicked calls flooded emergency lines
Eyewitnesses described bloodied victims strewn across the street as emergency services raced to the scene
Stunned locals said the driver, believed to be an elderly man, was helped out of the vehicle and stretchered away by medics.
His battered car left behind a trail of destruction and the popular city in shock.
‘The car drove into these table and bench sets in front of the store, and they flew into the air, and people screamed,’ said Henny Christiansen, a witness at the scene.
Police confirmed that the man had ‘lost control of the vehicle’ before crashing into the crowd and are treating the area as an active crime scene.
They say they are investigating whether speed or other factors played a role in the crash.
A wide cordon has been placed around the scene, with traffic halted between Norrebrogade and Sankt Hans Gade as forensic teams comb the area for clues.
The incident has chilling echoes of another tragedy just days ago, when 11 people, including a five-year-old child, were killed in Vancouver after a car ploughed into a festival crowd.
In that case, a 30-year-old ‘lone suspect’ known to police was quickly arrested.
