The energy company RWE, as the operator of the opencast mine, assumes that the mast “was intentionally damaged and brought down”. An RWE spokesman told the German Press Agency: “If it was sabotage of the critical infrastructure, we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.” The police confirmed that “the interference of third parties is likely”. According to the company, the mast supplies the mine with electricity.
According to dpa information, a waterworks would also have been affected if the power lines failed. “Since the power supply is stable, the water supply of Grevenbroich is not at risk from the Fürth waterworks operated by RWE,” said the RWE spokesman on request.
To be on the safe side, two of the four circuits running over the mast were switched off. The Garzweiler opencast mine is still in operation: “The power plants can also continue to work.” According to RWE, other masts were not affected.
According to RWE, an employee discovered the collapsed mast on Friday afternoon and alerted the police. Experts anchored and secured the mast on Saturday night, and the police began investigations on site. A photo from the crime scene shows that screws were loosened and metal parts sawed off.
ERKELENZ (dpa-AFX)
Leverage must be between 2 and 20
No data
More news about RWE AG St.
Image sources: Dennis Diatel / Shutterstock.com, Andre Laaks, RWE