NI couple just hours from Berlin attack carnage
A young man from Northern Ireland who avoided the horror that unfolded at the markets beside Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin by just 24 hours said he hopes people are not put off visiting Germany because of the incident.
Mark Ovens, 28, from Co Fermanagh, proposed to his girlfriend Mairead on Saturday night at almost the exact spot the lorry entered the market two days later, killing 12 people.
They visited the market again on Sunday evening before returning home to Northern Ireland, turning on the television and hearing about the mass deaths that had taken place exactly where they had stood just hours before.
“The last time I was in the market was on Sunday evening – so about 24 hours before the attack itself,” he said.
“I came home, turned on the TV to Sky News and I recognised the market straight away.
“That market was packed. There would have just been a body of people walking where that lorry went last night – families, young people, old people.
“It wasn’t the most touristy German market, it was quite authentic and that’s one of the things I liked about it.
“Where the lorry came in was just yards – I mean literally feet – from where I proposed on Saturday night. We went back again the following night.
“It’s unbelievable to think that someone would consider something like this a target.
“There were lots of children – at that time of day there definitely would have been kids.”
Mark, who works as a press officer, said he hopes people are not too fearful to continue travelling to Germany on holidays.
“It would be a shame if this attack were to diminish the attraction of Berlin and I hope people keep going.”