Suspected bomb blows up car in Berlin, killing driver

March 15, 2016: This image shows a car believed to have been blown up by a bomb in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. (Twitter/@polizeiberlin)

German police believe a bomb caused an explosion that killed a man driving through Berlin during the morning rush hour Tuesday.

The deputy chief spokesman for Berlin police, Carsten Mueller, told The Associated Press that the explosion occurred at about 8 a.m. (3 a.m. EST) in the western district of Charlottenburg.

Mueller says that "investigators are working on the assumption that it was an explosive device" inside or on the vehicle that caused the blast.

A picture posted by Berlin police on Twitter showed the wreckage of a silver VW Passat station wagon on the street, its windows blown out and its front end smashed in.

Mueller confirmed that nobody else was injured in the blast despite heavy traffic. Experts checked the vehicle but found no further explosive devices, he said.

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

She said investigators had identified the man who was killed but 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, but Mueller said police were looking into all possible scenarios that might have led to the blast.

The explosion occurred about half a mile from the capital's landmark Victory Column.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.