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Berlin U-Bahn attacker sets girls’ hair on fire

Police are urgently searching for a man who allegedly set fire to the hair of young women in Berlin underground train stations, after a fresh report of another incident at Ostbahnhof.

Published: 20 February 2015 09:59 CET
Berlin U-Bahn attacker sets girls' hair on fire
Polizei Berlin

Reports of the criminal first surfaced in June 2014, when a 17-year-old girl filed a report saying the suspect came up behind her and set her hair on fire with a lighter as she was waiting for the train in the Zoologischer Garten station.

Another victim came forward after police released stills from surveillance footage in December.

The 25-year-old told police the man fled while she was extinguishing flames in her hair after an attack at Ostbahnhof train station.

Police are looking for witnesses to both incidents, or anyone who could help identify the suspect. 

He is a man between 18 and 25 years old, with a lean, athletic figure, with dark, cropped hair shaved around the sides and back of his head.

Contacted by The Local on Friday, a Berlin police spokesman said that the attacks appeared to be random, with no details linking the two young women.

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FIRE

Situation ‘unstable’ at Copenhagen’s old stock exchange after fire

Three days after a fire which ravaged Copenhagen's historic former stock exchange broke out, emergency services said Friday that the situation was "unstable" due to equipment issues and a strong breeze.

Published: 19 April 2024 17:44 CEST
Situation 'unstable' at Copenhagen's old stock exchange after fire

In the morning, during work to dismantle the scaffolding surrounding the building, a crane’s cutters came loose for as of yet unknown reasons.

It is currently wedged between the scaffolding — put up for the renovation of the historic building that was ongoing — and what remains of the walls.

“It is affecting our efforts”, Tim Ole Simonsen, leader of the operation at the rescue services, told a press conference.

Coupled with the wind picking up, the incident, which has temporarily halted work on dismantling the scaffolding, has made the situation “unstable”.

“The wind is blowing harder and harder, and there are tarps over the scaffolding that can catch the wind,” Simonsen said.

He added that this increases the risks, in particular of further collapse of the burnt-out facade which started collapsing late Thursday afternoon.

Located close to the Christiansborg parliament and seat of government, the Borsen building was commissioned by King Christian IV and built between 1619 and 1640. It was the stock exchange until the 1970s.

The fire began Tuesday morning under the copper roof of the building, which was undergoing renovations ahead of its 400th anniversary.

The cause of the blaze was unknown and Copenhagen police said Wednesday that a major investigation had been launched.

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