Germany: Alleged 'politically motivated' fire causes massive blackout in Berlin
A spokesman for the city's electricity grid manager said that some 50,000 customers were affected by the blackout. On the other hand, the authorities do not rule out that it was a "politically motivated" criminal act.
Berlin-File Image
Tens of thousands of homes in Berlin were left without electricity early Tuesday morning due to a fire on two distribution network poles in the Johannisthal neighborhood in the southeast of the capital, police said.
According to authorities, the fire reportedly affected two high-voltage transmission towers needed for power to reach the districts of Gruenau, Adlershof, Spindlersfeld, AltJohannisthal, Oberschoeneweide and Altglienicke. It took firefighters an hour to extinguish the blaze on the power distribution network poles.
According to a spokesman for the city's power grid manager, 50,000 customers were affected. However, the company claimed that by around 10:00 am (local time) supply had been restored to about 15,000 of them.
The fire could be "politically motivated"
Police suspect a "criminal fire" and "do not rule out a political motivation behind the blaze," the police force spokesman said, without giving further details, in statements picked up by AFP.
Authorities also said some 43,000 homes and 3,000 businesses were affected by the power outages, including several nursing homes, schools, kindergartens and trams, the police source said.
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