A mother, 37, and her two-year-old daughter have died from injuries sustained in Thursday’s car attack in the German city of Munich, police say.

At least 37 people were injured after a car was driven into a crowd of people at a trade union rally.

The driver was a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, police said, identified in local media as Farhad N. He was arrested at the scene and prosecutors say he has admitted to carrying out the attack. He appeared to have a religious motivation, officials said.

The mother and child were among those taken to hospital with serious injuries after the attack.

“Unfortunately, we have to confirm the deaths today of the two-year-old child and her 37-year-old mother,” police spokesman Ludwig Waldinger told news agency AFP on Saturday.

The car ramming has brought security issues back into focus the week before federal elections are held in Germany.