BERLIN, Sept 1 (Reuters) – German police are investigating a suspected attack involving an unexploded incendiary device at a power substation on Tuesday in the eastern state of Brandenburg that caused a brief power cut and damaged power lines, officials said.
The Turnow-Preilack substation is one of the region’s most critical high-voltage nodes, connecting Brandenburg’s largest power plant, Jaenschwalde, to the 50Hertz transmission grid.
Police received information about the incident at around 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) and officers were deployed to the substation, a spokesperson said, adding that there was never any danger to the public.
The incident involved “an unconventional explosive and incendiary device that is capable of detonating but did not do so”, police said, without giving further details.
Grid operator 50Hertz said “as yet unidentified perpetrators are believed to have caused damage to several power lines in 50Hertz’s transmission grid”.
There was a brief power cut, but all power lines are now back in operation and the general electricity supply was never affected, the operator added in an emailed statement.
The incident involved homemade projectiles resembling standard fireworks, 50Hertz said later. Projectiles that had not yet been launched were also found at the scene, it said.
A spokeswoman for LEAG, the power plant operator, said a switchgear bay that was still out of service after the attack was expected to be restored over the course of Tuesday.
Germany has been on high alert in recent weeks due to what officials have called a growing threat from cyber and hybrid attacks.
Brandenburg premier Dietmar Woidke condemned the alleged attack on the substation.
“We take attacks on our critical infrastructure very seriously. The alarmingly high frequency of such incidents shows that we must resolutely protect our infrastructure,” he said.
Germany is set to blame Russia for an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport last month and could prepare new sanctions against Moscow in coordination with allies, two sources said on Tuesday.
Russia has previously dismissed accusations about its possible involvement in the airport incident as a “fabricated provocation” and as “a new wave of anti-Russian hysteria in Germany”.
(Reporting by Friederike Heine, Kirsti Knolle and Markus Wacket; Writing by Linda Pasquini;Editing by Gareth Jones, Miranda Murray and Alison Williams)
Comments