A GERMAN airport worker stopped a potential disaster by booting a suspected Russian drone carrying a military-grade bomb out of the air.
The airport and flew worryingly close to a fleet of Ukrainian aircraft loaded up with ammo.
A German cop working at the site where a major security alert was declared Credit: Getty
Images of the terrifying bomb-laden device were released hours after the ordeal Credit: BILD Fotoservice
Investigators have now revealed the drone was first seen by the south runway at the Leipzig/Halle Airport on August 4 at around 11.42pm.
It was hovering between two Ukrainian An-124 cargo planes which led to the workers rushing to try and bring it down.
One employee managed to get close enough so he could bravely kick the drone as it was flying near him, according to DPA, Germany‘s largest news agency.
deployed a bomb disposal robot to inspect the stricken drone and found it had been equipped with professional explosives and a detonator.
A bomb disposal robot deployed on Wednesday to inspect the drone after it had been kicked Credit: AP
Germany’s Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, praised the airport worker but said the drone crashing down to the ground could have had serious consequences.
He said a “ripped” detonator on the explosive package was the only thing that prevented the device from going off as it hit the tarmac.
If it had exploded then the blast could have not only injured those nearby but also set light to the aircraft, its fuel and the ammo inside.
Dobrindt said the drone’s explosive cargo points towards it being a failed hybrid attack potentially from “foreign powers”.
The close call came just before a landing plane struck a mystery flying object at the same airport in another major security alert.
Germany’s federal prosecutor has taken on the investigation, along with representatives, into the suspected drone attack.
The Office of the Federal Prosecutor said the “serious attack likely targeted Germany’s and logistics infrastructure.”
The airport in Leipzig is the main base for Nato’s Strategic Airlift International Solution.
A police officer in protective clothing works at Leipzig/Halle Airport Credit: Reuters Putin ‘is prepared to take down a passenger jet in Europe’
THE explosive-laden drone found at a German airport shows Vladimir Putin is prepared to take down a European passenger jet, an expert has warned.
Security expert Will Geddes said the terrifying breaches had “shaken fear across not only militaries and across the world, but also commercial airports”.
And he warned the chilling ordeal proved that to blow up a passenger plane in Europe.
Geddes told The Sun: “It’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
He added that the device could have been adapted to carry radioactive material or even a biological weapon.
Geddes said: “The visible demonstration of the ability to get close to a cargo plane in an airport in Leipzig shows that if that had detonated… that would have had a drastic impact.”
He also warned the West was lacking in the necessary countermeasures to defend against – a weakpoint which could leave Britain vulnerable.
It is one of the main European hubs for delivering equipment to strengthen Nato’s eastern flank using a small fleet of Antonov cargo planes.
As opposition Green Party spokesman Konstantin von Notz said: “Should it transpire that a state is behind this action, this would constitute state directed against Germany and its citizens.”
German officials are yet to identify any suspects but several security experts and European ambassadors say it .
Kyiv’s ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev said: ““
Security expert Will Geddes told The Sun to blow up a passenger plane in Europe.
Russia has already proved it is capable of taking down passenger jets in Europe.
In 2014, flight MH17 was shot down with a Russian-made missile over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.
Moscow was found responsible for the disaster which took place over the Donbas region while pro-Russian rebels were fighting Ukrainians.
European security agencies have been probing a series of that caught fire in 2024.
Main suspect has been frequently accused of planting a parcel bomb .
Russia has denied any involvement in the 2024 incidents and the more recent overflights.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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