UPDATE - German military base locked down due to suspected sabotage

UPDATES WITH NEW DETAILS

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) – A German military base was put in lockdown after a suspected security breach and anomalies at the garrison’s water system, authorities said on Wednesday.

Ulrich Fonrobert, a spokesperson for the Cologne-Wahn base, told reporters that the garrison was put in lockdown on Tuesday night after a security incident, adding that the investigations are still ongoing.

“We are taking this incident very seriously, and we have been working closely with the security authorities, including the police, the military counterintelligence service, and the State Protection Office,” he said.

The spokesperson confirmed that investigators discovered a hole in the fence of the military base’s water supply facility, as well as detected abnormal values in water quality, raising the suspicion of sabotage and contamination of tap water systems.

He said that so far they have not received any health-related complaints from the soldiers at the base but are waiting for the test results on samples to determine whether the water supply has been contaminated.

As a precaution, thousands of soldiers and civilian employees at the base are told not to drink tap water.

The spokesperson said military personnel carried out a thorough search of the garrison, but no suspects have been identified or arrested who might have gained illegal access to the base.

Local media reported that a similar incident also occurred at a NATO base in Geilenkirchen, forcing authorities to issue a lockdown order for several hours on Wednesday.

According to Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, authorities are currently investigating whether the military base’s water supply has been purposefully contaminated in an act of sabotage.