A fire at an electrical cable facility in Berlin has left around 50,000 households without power, with authorities warning the incident may have been deliberate, police said on Saturday.
Berlin police said the blaze broke out at a site housing power cables in the Lichterfelde district, prompting emergency services to respond at around 05:45 GMT. Firefighters managed to extinguish the flames, but the incident caused widespread electricity outages affecting tens of thousands of homes.
In addition to residential areas, about 2,000 commercial properties were also impacted, with potential disruptions to mobile phone networks and landline services reported.
Berlin Police said criminal investigators were deployed to the scene to determine the cause of the fire, which damaged multiple power cables. Authorities have not ruled out arson.
Police and emergency services remain on site to manage the situation and respond to public inquiries, as the outage comes during a period of severe cold weather in the German capital, raising concerns about heating and essential services.
Officials said further updates would be provided as investigations continue and power restoration efforts progress.
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