Stolen truck slams into cars in Germany, several injured

Limburg (Germany): A stolen truck ploughed into several cars in the centre of the German city of Limburg on Monday leaving a number of people injured, police said, adding that the driver had been detained. "Based on what we have learned and several witness accounts, the man seized control of the truck at about 5:20 pm (1520 GMT)," police said in a statement.

Soon after, the white articulated lorry slammed into around nine cars waiting at a stoplight near the main railway station of Limburg in Hesse state, "crushing them together".

"Several people are being treated in hospital" and the driver, who is in custody, was slightly injured, police added.

German news agency DPA, quoting regional police, put the number of people hurt at 17 including the driver, adding that one person was in a critical condition. Police said it was too soon to speculate about a motive.

"We currently do not have sufficient information about what was behind it," they said.

"The investigation, including questioning witnesses and collecting evidence, is ongoing."

Police conducted a major deployment of officers and vehicles, with a helicopter circling overhead in the city of 35,000, about an hour's drive from the financial capital Frankfurt.

An AFP reporter later saw the scene cordoned off by police and brightly illuminated as tow trucks removed the damaged cars one by one. The lorry's front grill was smashed. Authorities urged users of social media not to jump to conclusions on the motive. "We are not ruling anything out," a spokesman for the state police force quoted by DPA said. "But we call on you: don't take part in speculation!" the regional police wrote in several tweets.