Explosive devices found on A4 near Langerwehe – police seek witnesses
On Monday afternoon, launching devices were discovered beneath power lines next to the A4 in Düren district. The motorway was closed for several hours.
Sabotage of energy infrastructure: explosive devices near A4 at Langerwehe secured
On Monday afternoon (7 September), explosive devices were discovered beneath high-voltage power lines along the A4 motorway in Düren district, according to ksta.de. The A4 was subsequently closed in both directions between Eschweiler-East and Langerwehe for several hours.
Around 17:00, traffic backed up approximately seven kilometres in the direction of Cologne and four kilometres towards Aachen. At 18:00, the closure was lifted, though the search for a suspicious person in the vicinity of Weisweiler coal-fired power station continued initially.
Cologne police stated that emergency services had received information in the afternoon about a suspicious person near Weisweiler power station. Several launching devices had been set up near the high-voltage power line. The area was cordoned off widely.
Police appeal for witnesses
Police are now seeking witnesses and asking who made observations on Monday that could be connected with the placement of the launching devices. Information is also sought on persons and vehicles – including details of colour, model, registration number or occupants – as well as cyclists in the affected area. Camera footage, such as from wildlife cameras, is also of interest. Witnesses are asked to contact emergency services on 110 or the police information portal.
New devices in already-searched area
WDR reported, citing police, that the area around Weisweiler power station had already been searched the previous week. It was therefore to be assumed that the launching devices had been newly installed. Whether the 48-year-old man from Gevelsberg who has been sought for days, Daniel V., is responsible remained initially unclear.
North Rhine-Westphalia police are searching intensively for the 48-year-old man from Gevelsberg. Following several attacks on electricity infrastructure in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Saxony, letters claiming responsibility appeared which also contained technical details of the explosive devices. A raid on Friday at his residential address yielded no results. A converted lorry camper near Hambach Forest was also examined unsuccessfully.
Multiple operations in North Rhine-Westphalia on same day
On Monday, there were further operations: between Remscheid and Wuppertal, a suspicious person with a rucksack was sighted – this operation also yielded no results. A larger police operation also took place at a substation in Wesel district on the Lower Rhine.
NRW Interior Minister Reul and Federal Interior Minister Dobrindt had spoken the previous week of "climate extremism" and a "high level of threat". According to authorities, how Daniel V. managed to install explosive devices again in the Eschweiler area despite intensive search efforts remains completely unclear.
Source: Google News LU DE