By Matthias Inverardi
BERLIN, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Germany opened a counterterrorism investigation on Wednesday after an explosive-laden drone was found near a runway at Leipzig/Halle airport overnight, prompting the closure of parts of one of Europe's biggest cargo hubs.
Investigators were also examining what a DHL cargo plane had struck in the air after being diverted from the airport in eastern Germany during the disruption.
Airport workers discovered the drone in a restricted cargo area near the southern
runway overnight. Flights were suspended and several aircraft, including some owned by German logistics firm DHL, were diverted.
Authorities said there had been no danger to passengers or airport staff and most operations resumed by morning after one runway was reopened.
HEADS OF GERMAN SECURITY SERVICES TO MEET
The diverted plane hit an unidentified object while climbing away from the airport. Minor damage was discovered after it landed in Hanover, authorities said. A source familiar with the incident said the plane belonged to DHL.
The southern runway of the airport, a major hub for DHL and Ukraine's Antonov Airlines, remained closed while explosives experts examined the drone and removed its detonator, according to authorities.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt scheduled an emergency meeting with the heads of Germany's security services on Wednesday night.
German airports are on high alert after a series of unauthorised drone overflights at sites including military facilities, energy terminals, seaports and logistics companies.
Federal police have said the overflights could have been organised by Russian agents.
Germany's Bild newspaper reported that the Leipzig drone had been found lying in the immediate vicinity of a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane. The airline has used Leipzig/Halle as an operating base since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
The explosive may have been one that can be made easily from fertiliser and gasoline, it added.
Anti-extremism prosecutors and counterterrorism officers took over the investigation after experts confirmed the drone was carrying explosives.
European security agencies have been investigating a series of incendiary devices concealed in parcels that caught fire in 2024, raising concerns about sabotage of air cargo operators.
Some of the devices were found at a DHL warehouse in Leipzig and in freight shipments in transit across Europe.
An Interior Ministry spokesperson said no connection with Tuesday night's incident could be determined at this stage.
Russia has denied any involvement in the 2024 incidents and the more recent overflights.
(Reporting by Friederike Heine, Markus Wacket and Miranda Murray in Berlin and Matthias Inverardi in Duesseldorf, editing by Sabine Wollrab and Kevin Liffey)
