‘Left-wing extremists’ cause blackout affecting 45,000 homes | World | News

Households and businesses in southwest Berlin may face days without power after a fire damaged power lines in what authorities described as a politically motivated attack.

According to local authorities, the fire broke out on a cable bridge near the Lichterfelde power plant on Saturday, January 3. On Sunday, January 4, city officials attributed the fire to “leftist extremists.”

The incident left more than 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses without power in four regions, also causing disruptions in heating and internet services. Authorities are treating the incident as potential arson and drawing parallels with a similar blackout in southeast Berlin last September for which radical activists claimed responsibility. mirror reports.

A letter claiming responsibility for Saturday’s incident is currently being investigated for authenticity. Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner told a German news agency that the culprits were “clearly left-wing extremists”, adding: “It is unacceptable that left-wing extremists are once again endangering human lives by attacking our power grid.”

The city’s Senator for Economic Affairs, Franziska Giffey, described the incident as a “particularly severe power outage” that affected tens of thousands of households and businesses, including care facilities, hospitals, social institutions and companies.

Power was restored to thousands of households by Sunday, but many more are expected to remain without power until Thursday, according to officials.

Restoration work was disrupted by snowy weather and freezing temperatures, worsening the situation of those affected.