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CRIME

Police warn train ticket machines may explode

Police in the German state of Hesse on Thursday warned ticket vending machines for railway operator Deutsche Bahn might explode, after they found someone had been filling them with gas and trying to set them alight, possibly to get the money from inside.

Police warn train ticket machines may explode
Photo: DPA

Over the past few months unidentified suspects have been taping up any holes – like money slots – in train tickets machines before filling them with gas and attempting to blow them up.

One machine in Karben, near Frankfurt, was shut after police had to defuse a gas-filled ticket machine.

The official warning, coming from the Hessian state office for criminal investigation and the police, said the volatile gas mixture didn’t always ignite, but there was still a danger even after the culprits had given up.

Passengers should avoid ticket machines that have been taped up, and let the police know immediately, they said.

A spokesman for Germany’s main train operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) admitted to the paper that “although suspects wouldn’t be able to get away with much money because of how regularly the machines are emptied, it does seem that this is criminal activity.”

Deutsche Bahn has stepped up its safety policy since an initial explosion and is keeping a closer eye on ticket machines, the spokesman added.

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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