Accessibility links

Breaking News

Hundreds Mourn Polish Truck Driver Killed In Berlin Attack


Polish President Andrzej Duda (center) prays at the coffin of Lukasz Urban during a funeral Mass in Banie in northwestern Poland on December 30.
Polish President Andrzej Duda (center) prays at the coffin of Lukasz Urban during a funeral Mass in Banie in northwestern Poland on December 30.

Hundreds of people joined officials from Poland and Germany to attend the funeral of the Polish truck driver who was killed when his truck was used to crash into a Berlin Christmas market last week.

Lukasz Urban was among 12 people killed in the December 19 attack claimed by Islamic State.

Mourners on December 30 packed a small church in Banie, the driver's home village, while several trucks parked nearby honked their horns to honor the driver, Polish media reported.

Polish President Andrzej Duda laid a wreath and briefly kneeled in front of Urban's white coffin, after attending mass in the village in northwestern Poland, 15 kilometers from the German border.

Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said earlier that Urban's son and wife would receive a special pension, while an Internet crowd-funding campaign started by a British truck driver has raised more than $218,000 for the family.

The suspected Berlin attacker, 24-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri, was shot dead by Italian police on December 23 after a European-wide manhunt.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG