Berlin car bomb ‘not a terror attack’

An explosion that destroyed a car and killed the driver in downtown Berlin during rush hour traffic was likely caused by a bomb, police said, but investigators are working on the assumption that it was not a terror-related attack.

The explosion occurred at about 8am (7am GMT) in the western district of Charlottenburg on a busy street leading into the heart of the German capital.

Photos from the scene showed the wreckage of a Berlin-registered silver VW Passat station wagon, its windows blown out and its front end smashed in, about a kilometre from the capital’s landmark Victory Column.

“The explosion occurred inside or on the vehicle,” said Carsten Mueller, deputy chief spokesman for Berlin police. “Our investigators are working on the assumption that it was an explosive device that caused this,” Mueller said.

Nobody else was injured in the blast despite heavy traffic, he said.

Hours after the blast police were concentrating on the possibility that the explosion might be linked to organised crime, said Kerstin Ziesmer, a police spokeswoman.

Ms Ziesmer added that investigators had identified the man who was killed but have declined to name him, citing the ongoing investigation.

The city has seen a spate of violence linked to biker gangs involved in the drugs trade in recent years.