30 people, including children, injured after machete-wielding man allegedly sets fire to homes in Germany

Eight children are among 30 injured after a machete-wielding Syrian man set fire to homes in a terrifying rampage in Germany.

Dozens of people, including eight children, have been injured after a machete-wielding man allegedly set fire to homes and rammed a van into shops in a terrifying rampage in Germany.

A Syrian man was arrested after a fire broke out in two apartment blocks in the western German city of Essen, over 500km from Berlin, on Saturday evening.

Over 30 people were injured in the fires, including eight children who were seriously injured, Essen police said in a statement.

A short time later, a van was rammed into two nearby shops, causing damage but no injuries, police said. A 41-year-old man was arrested at the scene.

Fires broke out at two apartment blocks in Essen on Saturday. Picture: Sascha Schuermann / AFP

Over 30 people were injured in the blaze. Picture: Sascha Schuermann / AFP

At one of the apartment buildings, people were heard calling for help from windows and residents were seen putting up ladders to reach their neighbours inside, the Associated Press reports.

One harrowing photo shared on social media appears to show multiple people working together to rescue a small child from a building as black smoke filled the air.

In the photo, the child is seen dangling by one hand as she is passed from a woman on the roof into the hands of a man waiting on a ladder.

According to police, initial investigations indicated that the suspect’s alleged motive was that his wife had left him.

He had gone out armed with “knives and fire accelerants” intending to target homes and shops in Essen connected with people who had supported his wife, they said.

German newspaper Bild reported the suspect had threatened passers-by with a machete.

A chilling photo shared online appears to shows a man in a white cap holding a large knife in his hand as he moves through the street.

A photo shared on social media shows multiple people rescuing a small child from a building. Picture: X

Another shows a man on the street with a large knife in his hand. Picture: X

The alleged rampage comes at a time of heated debate in Germany over migration after a spate of suspected Islamist attacks.

Three people were killed and eight wounded in a knife attack at a street festival in the western city of Solingen in August, allegedly carried out by a Syrian asylum seeker and claimed by the Islamic State group.

The suspect had allegedly gone out armed with “knives and fire accelerants” intending to target homes. Picture: Sascha Schuermann / AFP

The fire broke out at the entrance of the building. Picture: Sascha Schuermann / AFP

An Islamist motive is also suspected in the killing of a police officer in a knife attack on the market square in the city of Mannheim in May.

Germany has responded to the attacks by taking steps to tighten immigration controls and knife laws.

The government has introduced new checks along all of its borders and promised to speed up deportations of migrants who have no right to stay in Germany.

Germany took in more than a million asylum seekers in 2015-2016 at the height of Europe’s migrant crisis — a deeply divisive influx that has fuelled the popularity of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party.