Climate extremists claim responsibility for blackout affecting 50,000 households

A major blackout has hit five districts in southwestern Berlin, with the police treating the incident as arson

A group of self-described climate activists has claimed responsibility for a massive power outage that hit five districts in southwestern Berlin, saying the action targeted the fossil fuel industry and “the rich.”

Up to 50,000 households and 2,200 commercial entities were affected by the blackout in the early hours of Saturday, a spokesman for the local electricity provider, Stromnetz Berlin, told the Berliner Zeitung. “Full restoration of power supply” is expected no sooner than January 8, according to the company. The residents of the affected areas would have to remain without power in “freezing temperatures” ranging from -7C to -1C, the paper reported.

Police are treating the incident as a targeted arson attack, according to local media. The blackout was caused by a blaze that hit a power bridge over the Teltow Canal, which goes through the southern part of the city. Several nursing homes and elderly care centers had to be evacuated because of the incident, according to a local fire department. No casualties have been reported in connection to the incident.

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Police also said they had received a letter signed by the “Volcano Group” on Saturday evening, in which the climate activists and anti-Fascists claimed responsibility for the incident. The group blamed the industrial extraction of natural resources for the “destruction” of Earth and that humanity “can no longer afford the rich.” The group then said they had “successfully sabotaged” a gas power plant, adding that their action was “socially beneficial” and targeted the fossil fuel industry.

The regional office of the German domestic security service was verifying the letter’s authenticity, according to the police.

According to the Berliner Zeitung, the group had carried out similar attacks in the past. They claimed responsibility for the sabotage of two power cables in southeastern Berlin in September. That attack also left around 50,000 households without power at the time.