Suspicious object at the substation in Dormagen – police assume sabotage
Quick Look
- After a suspicious object was found at a substation in Dormagen between Cologne and Düsseldorf, the police are assuming an act of sabotage.
- There is a letter of responsibility that also mentions other publicly known incidents in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg.
- The investigation is still ongoing and it could be a suspicious launching device.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
There were previous similar incidents in Bergheim near Cologne and Jänschwalde in Brandenburg, in which conductive material was directed towards high-voltage power lines and several launchers were found.
After a suspicious object was found at a substation in Dormagen between Cologne and Düsseldorf, the police are assuming an act of sabotage. The investigators have a letter of confession in which other - already publicly known - suspected cases in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg are mentioned, a spokesman for the Cologne police told the German Press Agency.
The investigations into the suspicious object that a walker discovered at the substation in Dormagen on Thursday evening have not yet been completed. The spokesman said that night it may be a “suspicious launching device”.
North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg
:Two attacks on the power grid in one day
A suspected attack on a substation brings brown coal-fired power plants near Cologne to a standstill. The NRW Interior Minister speaks of an attack on Germany.
SZ PlusBy Björn Finke
Officials checked other substations in surrounding regions to see whether suspicious objects had also been placed there, said the police spokesman. At the moment, with the exception of the substation in Bergheim, west of Cologne, no damage has been found. Cables were carried over the overhead line there on Tuesday, causing a short circuit. Several launchers were subsequently discovered.
A similar incident had occurred a few hours earlier in southern Brandenburg. On Tuesday morning near the Jänschwalde power plant, conductive material was directed towards the high-voltage lines with the help of self-made missiles that resembled New Year's Eve rockets. More than a dozen devices for this have been found. According to the network operator, there was no power outage. The investigators had announced that they assumed that the incidents in Bergheim and Jänschwalde were due to unconstitutional sabotage.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Police will be checking other substations in the area for suspicious items.
Very likely · Within days
The investigation will examine the connection between the incidents in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg in more detail.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- Who is behind the acts of sabotage?
- What were the motives behind the attacks?
- Are there other suspicious items at other substations?
- What exactly is the content of the letter of confession?