Jänschwalde: What We Know About the Explosion at the Brandenburg Substation

At least two explosions struck an electrical substation in Turnow-Preilack, Brandenburg, near the Jänschwalde power plant. Police found several explosive devices at the site, although the exact number remains unclear and could be in the double digits.

Brandenburg Interior Minister Jan Redmann described the incident as attempted sabotage. He said the perpetrators aimed to use a propellant to hurl conductive material into a high-voltage transmission line and cause a short circuit. In two cases, he said, that appears to have succeeded.

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That was no child’s prank.

The resulting short circuit on such a line was powerful enough to disturb the ground, Redmann said. An employee of the transmission operator 50Hertz reportedly saw “a fireball.” Redmann said authorities currently had no indication of conventional detonations and were instead working on the assumption that a short circuit in a high-voltage line had discharged into the earth.

The substation lies between Preilack and the municipality of Tauer. The electricity supply was not disrupted, and officials said there was no danger to the population. A facility building from the 1980s remains in use by the operator, while other huts on the site, likely built to house workers during construction, stand empty.

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A fireball.