A suspected explosive device has been discovered on railway tracks near a train station in southern Germany, prompting a major security operation just days after a drone carrying explosives was found near one of the country’s major airports.
Bomb disposal experts were deployed to the area around Treuchtlingen railway station, where authorities cordoned off the site and urged members of the public to stay away while the suspicious object was examined.
Police said several nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution because the possibility that the object was potentially explosive could not initially be ruled out.
The discovery also caused major disruption to rail services, with trains passing through Treuchtlingen suspended while authorities used X-ray equipment to determine the nature of the object.
Treuchtlingen is located around 90 miles north-west of Munich. Authorities said the device would need to be carefully removed before further examination could take place.
The incident comes amid heightened security concerns in Germany following the discovery of a suspected Russian drone carrying explosives at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
The drone was reportedly found near Ukrainian cargo aircraft, prompting workers to act as the device was brought down. A bomb disposal robot was later used to examine it, with authorities finding professional explosives and a detonator attached.
Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the explosive package could have caused serious damage if it had detonated after hitting the ground. He said the detonator appeared to have been damaged, preventing a possible explosion.
Dobrindt described the incident as potentially part of a wider hybrid attack involving foreign powers, although authorities have not publicly established who was responsible.
Security expert Will Geddes warned that the airport incident demonstrated how drones could potentially be used to target sensitive infrastructure, including airports and aircraft.
He said such breaches should raise concerns not only for military facilities but also for commercial aviation, warning that drones could potentially be modified to carry other dangerous materials.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, previously suggested Russia could be behind the drone incident, although that claim has not been independently confirmed.
German authorities have faced growing concerns over unidentified drones in recent months, with reports of suspicious aerial activity near military sites, energy facilities, ports and logistics centres.
The latest discovery at Treuchtlingen is now being investigated as authorities work to establish what the object is and whether it poses any genuine threat.
