Berlin substation fire prompts sabotage probe

A fire damaged an electricity substation in Berlin's Moabit area early Monday, and German police are investigating whether sabotage or a technical fault caused it.

Police said emergency services were alerted in the early hours. A construction site and part of the substation were burning and were damaged, but there was no disruption to electricity supply.

Investigators are working with the grid operator to determine whether the fire was arson or the result of a technical fault.

The incident comes as authorities hunt a 48-year-old suspected militant climate activist accused of attacks on substations in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg last week. Those attacks did not cause major blackouts but led to temporary shutdowns of some power plant equipment.