A man has died after crashing a car into Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, German police said.

Images from the scene show the mangled wreck of the Mercedes vehicle between two pillars of the capital’s popular sightseeing spot.

Poland’s consul in Berlin, Marcin Krol, tweeted that he could confirm that the “driver of the Mercedes that hit the Brandenburg Gate yesterday at 23:30 was a Polish citizen. The car was also registered in Poland”.

Police said initial information indicated that no other people were harmed in the crash, which happened shortly before midnight.

Parts of the Brandenburg Gate were covered in soot, but there appeared to be no major damage to the structure.