An “explosive device” has gone off in a car in Berlin, killing the driver, German police say.
The explosion occurred as the car was moving through the western district of Charlottenburg, heading towards the city centre. It flipped the vehicle up in the air, officials said.
Police told residents in the area to close their windows and stay in the back of their apartments. But bomb disposal teams later said there was no risk of more explosions.
The explosion happened “in or on” the front part of the Volkswagen Passat as it travelled along the Bismarckstrasse during the morning rush hour, a police spokesman said. A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, Martin Steltner, said the assumption was that the authorities were dealing with a murder, local media reported (in German). Police said a homicide investigation was under way. “We can’t say anything about the cause. We are at the beginning of our investigation,” said Michael Merkle from Berlin police. “Forensic investigators are here, will carefully examine the car, everything will be examined. The homicide division is on site and will take over the further investigation.”