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Emergency vehicles at the scene of the accident in Berlin-Wilmersdorf
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Paul Zinken / dpa
A cyclist was run over by a concrete mixer in Berlin-Wilmersdorf and suffered life-threatening injuries.
The woman was trapped under the vehicle on Monday morning, a spokesman for the fire department said.
The rescue of the injured was delayed, according to him, because firefighters with special equipment were stuck in traffic due to protests by climate demonstrators and only arrived late at the scene of the accident.
The concrete mixer driver got out to check on the victim.
Police said he was attacked on the street by an unknown person with a knife.
The 64-year-old was taken to hospital with stab wounds.
Police: The condition of the cyclist is "critical"
The police said it was not entirely clear how the accident happened on the corner of Bundesallee and Spichernstrasse.
The special truck and the cyclist were both heading towards Bahnhof Zoo.
The woman fell and was run over by the truck, her condition is critical.
The police spokeswoman did not provide any further information about the accident victim.
Three other people who had observed what was happening on site received psychological care.
According to the fire brigade spokesman, emergency services who were supposed to help rescue the cyclist were not at the scene of the accident in time due to protests by climate demonstrators.
The colleagues would have stood in a traffic jam on the A100 city motorway for a "quite relevant time" with a so-called rescue vehicle with special technology that is used, for example, to lift heavy loads.
Since the technology was not available, one had to improvise at the scene of the accident, the spokesman reported.
Around 40 firefighters were on site.
The climate protest group "Last Generation" said they were dismayed and could not rule out that the rescue vehicle's delay was due to a traffic jam they had caused.
"We sincerely hope that your health has not worsened as a result of the delay," said a spokeswoman.
»In all our protest actions, the top priority is to ensure the safety of all people taking part.«
Police union considers "guerrilla actions" dangerous
The police union (GdP) sharply criticized the action: “Now at the latest you should say goodbye to the fairy tale of harmless protest.
Anyone who blocks traffic routes risks and impedes the ability of internal security to act and also consciously accepts that people in need have to wait longer for help from the police and fire brigade," says spokesman Benjamin Jendro.
The "guerrilla actions in the name of the climate" are being played with the health of the population.
On Monday morning, climate demonstrators again blocked traffic in several places in Berlin.
The A100 was blocked at the level of the Funkturm triangle in the direction of Neukölln and the transition to the A115, as the traffic information center announced on Twitter, drivers had to expect around 35 minutes of traffic jams, it said.
The police confirmed two incidents on the A100: two people were sighted on the Halensee Bridge, a spokeswoman said.
There was also an "attempt at sticking" on the Tempelhofer Damm exit.
kek/dpa