A drone carrying an explosive device has been found at a German airport, police say.
A robot was deployed at Leipzig/Halle Airport after the device was spotted by an employee near Ukrainian cargo planes overnight, according to Saxony police.
A second unidentified object collided with a cargo aircraft near the same airport. Minor damage was detected on the aircraft after it landed in Hanover.
There have been a series of unauthorised drone flights in Germany in recent months over sensitive sites including military bases, airports, energy terminals, seaports and logistics companies.
German airports are on high alert. Federal police have warned that the overflights could have been organised by Russian agents.
Leipzig/Halle airport in eastern Germany is used by the Germany military and Nato allies for the transport of military goods and also serves as a base for Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines.
A police spokesman told the BBC that the explosive-laden object had been spotted close to parked Antonov transport planes.
A robot was used to remove the detonator from the explosive device.
Flights on the northern runway resumed at 01:55 (23:55 GMT on Tuesday).
The southern runway, which is a major hub for the logistic group DHL, remains closed.
Saxony’s Interior Minister Armin Schuster has described it as a “very serious security incident”.
German authorities have given no other details.
But Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev told Welt TV: “Who else could it be but Russia?”
Russia has not commented.
Credit: bbc.com
