Automatic brakes installed in truck used in Berlin attack prevented more deaths-newspaper

Record ID: 162661

  • Title: Automatic brakes installed in truck used in Berlin attack prevented more deaths-newspaper
  • Date: 29th December 2016
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (FILE - OCTOBER 2, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF GERMANY'S "JOINT TERROR PREVENTION CENTRE" (GTAZ) IN BERLIN WHICH, ACCORDING TO SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG NEWSPAPER, DISCUSSED ANIS AMRI'S CASE AT LEAST SEVEN TIMES BETWEEN FEBRUARY AND NOVEMBER 2016
  • Embargoed: 13th January 2017 11:51
  • Keywords: Berlin truck attack Christmas market investigation
  • Location: SODERTALJE, SWEDEN & BERLIN, GERMANY
  • City: SODERTALJE, SWEDEN & BERLIN, GERMANY
  • Country: Sweden
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,International/National Security
  • Reuters ID: LVA0025EXR8EF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Automatic brakes installed in the truck used in the Berlin attack prevented even more deaths, Sueddeutsche daily said in its Thursday (December 29) edition.
    Swedish truck manufacturer Scania, the brand used in last week's attack which left 12 people dead and 48 others injured, said in a video filmed in November 2013 that it was introducing "further developed Advanced Emergency Braking" (AEB) to its trucks.
    "AEB will improve road safety and can help to deploy emergency braking if the driver is inattentive to dangerous situations," the caption in the video reads.
    The suspected perpetrator of the December 19 attack in Berlin, Anis Amri, deliberately ploughed a Scania truck into a crowd of Christmas market visitors and according to Sueddeutsche, the vehicle came to a standstill after about 80 metres.
    It is unclear whether that truck was equipped with the AEB device.
    Amri, a failed asylum seeker from Tunisia, was shot dead in Italy on Dec. 23. The Sueddeutsche said German authorities in Berlin had discussed his case at least seven times between February and November at the government's Joint Terror Prevention Centre (GTAZ).
    The newspaper said documents it was shown by the authorities show Amri looked for Internet instructions on how to build pipe bombs and how to make explosive materials. It added that he had sought contact with Islamic State in February and offered to be a suicide bomber.
    Terrorism prevention experts discussed at least twice whether Amri was planning a specific attack in Germany, but both times decided it was unlikely, the paper reported.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register