Two injured in explosion at train station in southern Germany

At least two people have been injured following an explosion at a train station in southern Germany, police have said.

Officials said an unidentified object had exploded in a building passageway near Augsburg's main train station. German tabloid Bild reported that a hand grenade had detonated in front of a Turkish jeweler.

German newspaper Die Zeit identified the casualties as two Ukrainian citizens aged 17 and 18, who suffered “acoustic trauma” from the explosion.

Bavaria state police said the city’s main train station was later closed after a second suspicious object was found nearby. A bomb disposal expert and robot were on the scene, according to local reports.

Streets around the station were also shut early on Wednesday and public transport was disrupted, Schwaben North Police said, confirming a major police operation was still ongoing as of 7am BST.

Windows were said to have been broken and several nearby businesses, including a bank, were reported to have sustained minor damage in the initial explosion.

Police received reports of a detonation at 3.15am local time (2.15 BST). Investigators are yet to share any information on who or what may have been behind it.

Bild reported that the train station itself was apparently not the target of the explosion. A police spokesperson said that details on the device remained unclear.

Augsburg is a city of around 300,000 people in Bavaria, around 55km northwest of Munich. It serves as a regional transport hub.

German authorities are currently on high alert for attacks on vital infrastructure following a string of incidents in recent months.

Police in western Germany said on Wednesday that they were separately investigating an attack on a substation near the city of Bergheim.

A spokesperson said that they were looking into an act of premeditated vandalism at 4pm on Tuesday.