Elena Gabrielle’s last-minute decision to cancel a date at the Berlin Christmas market where at least nine people have died may have saved her life.

Performer Elena Gabrielle moved to the German capital from the Melbourne suburb of Carlton four months ago and said she was supposed to meet a date near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at the exact spot where a truck ploughed into stalls around 8pm local time.

Cabaret performer Elena Gabrielle was supposed to meet a date at the Berlin Christmas market where a truck killed marketgoers. Picture: Rob Leeson.Source:News Corp Australia

Fatigued from a busy weekend, she cancelled it last-minute and was shocked to hear of the attack which occurred around their original meeting time and left at least nine people dead.

“We were meeting for a drink and a walk around the markets,” Ms Gabrielle told Leader.

“I was just shocked, but I’ve been feeling like something like this was going to happen sooner or later,” she said.

“Because they have taken in so many refugees, to me, it feels like the city is divided. My (African-American) friend even got stuck in a situation with a neo-Nazi — he sat opposite her on the train and revealed his SS tattoo to her.”

Police and firefighters work around the truck that crashed into a Christmas market at Gedächniskirche church in Berlin, killing at least nine people and injuring at least 50 others. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

Despite her close call, Ms Gabrielle said it wouldn’t deter her from visiting the country’s famed Christmas markets.

“Everyone told me when I moved here to be careful, but you just have to keep on going with your life,” she said. “If you live in fear, they win.”

An accomplished singer, Ms Gabrielle has performed at festivals including Belfast Burlesque Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival, taking her shows to cities including Barcelona and Prague.

Her date, who works near the Christmas market also escaped unscathed.

“He works opposite the building and saw all the police and ambulances when he left work,” she said.

Ms Gabrielle is known around the Geelong arts scene, having grown up at Freshwater Creek, studied at Sacred Heart, and performed with the Geelong Lyric Theatre Society before doing her own burlesque shows.

Originally published asAussie’s close call at deadly Berlin market