The German media have come out with details about the attacker arrested in Magdeburg, Germany.

Citing security sources, the Welt newspaper reports that it is a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia, but without naming him.

According to the report, he had rented a car before the crime, which he then drove into the Christmas market.

According to Welt, a piece of luggage was found in the passenger seat, but it is unclear if there could be an explosive device there.

Authorities have not yet ruled out this scenario. The police are also checking whether the driver acted alone.

The BMW which the driver drove "at least 400 meters through the Christmas market" is still at the scene, a police spokesman said.

According to Bild, there are reports of 11 dead and 80 injured and that the police are searching for explosives in the fenced area of ​​the market.

According to MDR, all hospitals in Halle an der Saale, about 80 kilometers away, are also preparing to receive the injured. All rescue helicopters in the Halle area are flying in the direction of Magdeburg.

The Christmas market is located on the Alter Markt, directly in Magdeburg's town hall by the river Elbe.

In the evening, videos showing multiple emergency vehicles were shown on platform X. An eyewitness told "Volksstimme" that the attacker had gone by car to the market area where many families are on the move.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz also reacted with concern, saying that "his thoughts are with the victims and their relatives".

"We stand by them and by the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours," Scholz wrote in X.

The act commemorates the terrorist attack in Berlin on December 19, 2016, when a man hijacked a truck and drove into the market, leaving 13 dead and over 70 injured. The attacker fled to Italy, where he was shot dead by the police.