Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- A drone carrying an explosive charge at Leipzig airport reportedly was found near a plane packed with munitions for Ukraine
- An investigation team is searching for a possible second drone that is believed to have hit a plane midair
- German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described what happened as ‘a hybrid attack scenario’
- Western officials have repeatedly accused Russia and its proxies of staging attacks and other incidents across Europe
- A public health agency said nearly 12,000 people in Germany have died of heat-related causes this summer
Here is a roundup of top stories from and about Germany on Thursday, August 6, 2026:
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Skip next section Gelsenkirchen tram accident, reports of 3 critically injuredPublished 08/06/2026Published August 6, 2026last updated 08/06/2026last updated August 6, 2026
Gelsenkirchen tram accident, reports of 3 critically injured
Two trams have collided in the western city of Gelsenkirchen.
Local newspaper the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) based in nearby Essen carried the first images of two trams that appeared to have collided end-to-end.
The crash took place on Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse near Bundesliga club Schalke’s Veltins-Arena.
WAZ cited the fire service as saying that 14 people sustained minor injuries, seven were more seriously hurt and three suffered life-threatening injuries.
Traffic was suspended in both directions at the scene as emergency services responded. The incident was first reported at around 12:30 p.m. local time.
The DPA news agency later cited a police spokeswoman as saying that one of the trains, which was conducting driver training, stopped and the other then crashed into it from behind. The cause of the incident was under investigation.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IOh1Skip next section Low Rhine River level reveals WWII bomb in central Cologne08/06/2026August 6, 2026
Low Rhine River level reveals WWII bomb in central Cologne
Authorities in Cologne were working to defuse or dispose of an unexploded World War II bomb, revealed as the Rhine River’s water levels sink to record lows in the hot and dry summer.
The operation took place in the central Deutz district, just across the river from the main train station and Cologne’s renowned cathedral.
The discovery of the US bomb led to efforts to clear a safe zone in a radius of roughly 400 meters from the scene. Around 360 people were affected, city authorities said.
One of central Cologne’s green spaces, the Rheinpark on the right bank of the river, was cleared amid the operation.
By mid-afternoon, the City of Cologne published a list of areas that were cordoned off, asking people to stay clear.
It had said slightly earlier that it was not yet possible to say when the bomb would be defused or otherwise rendered safe.
Such finds are very common occurrences in Cologne, a strategically important city that was heavily bombed throughout much of World War II. Most of the bombs can be defused or disabled; a minority require a controlled explosion instead.
High temperatures and a lack of rain have often led to the summertime discovery of decadesold bombs in German rivers.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IOn8Skip next section READ — Leipzig explosive drone was next to plane with munitions for Ukraine08/06/2026August 6, 2026
READ — Leipzig explosive drone was next to plane with munitions for Ukraine
German regional public broadcasters WDR and NDR, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung daily, report that the drone found at Leipzig airport had been placed next to a cargo plane set to carry munitions to Ukraine.
They’re citing an internal police report to which they have access.
Federal authorities have already opened a terrorism investigation into the case.
For more details on this and the overall investigation, check out this feature by Marcel Fürstenau from our politics desk.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IOcjSkip next section Germany’s heat death toll rises to nearly 12,00008/06/2026August 6, 2026
Germany’s heat death toll rises to nearly 12,000
Nearly 12,000 people have died from the effects of extreme heat in Germany this year, according to new estimates from the Robert Koch Institute.
The German public health institute put the number of heat-related deaths between April 6 and July 26 at around 11,900, already well above any full-year total since 2016.
The previous annual high was around 9,000 deaths in 2018.
Around 9,600 of this year’s deaths were linked to the exceptionally hot week from June 22 to 28.
Average temperatures across Germany reached 26.4 degrees Celsius (79.5 degrees Fahrenheit) that week, while daytime temperatures topped 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) in many places.
The institute described the latest total as a conservative estimate, meaning the true figure could be higher.
People aged 85 and above accounted for around 6,000 deaths, while almost 3,000 victims were aged between 75 and 84.
Around 1,800 deaths were recorded among people aged 65 to 74, while about 1,100 were among those younger than 65.
Heat rarely kills directly. More often, extreme temperatures worsen existing illnesses or put additional strain on the cardiovascular system.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5IOKASkip next section Munich car-ramming attacker sentenced to life in prison08/06/2026August 6, 2026
Munich car-ramming attacker sentenced to life in prison
A German court has sentenced Farhad N. to life in prison for murder and attempted murder over a deadly car attack on a Verdi trade union demonstration in Munich.
A 37-year-old mother and her two-year-old child were killed in the February 2025 attack, while more than 40 people were injured.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IOInSkip next section Germany arrests Ukrainian suspected of spying on a defense company in Bavaria08/06/2026August 6, 2026
Germany arrests Ukrainian suspected of spying on a defense company in Bavaria
German authorities have arrested a Ukrainian man suspected of spying on a defense company in Bavaria to prepare possible acts of sabotage.
Investigators suspect he took photographs of the premises of a Bavarian defense company in June and passed them to handlers working for a foreign intelligence service.
https://p.dw.com/p/5INvxSkip next section Industry demands action ahead of low-water talksPublished 08/06/2026Published August 6, 2026last updated 08/06/2026last updated August 6, 2026
Industry demands action ahead of low-water talks
Ahead of Thursday’s crisis talks in Bonn over exceptionally low river water levels, German industry and shipping groups are demanding concrete measures, including deepenening the river at certain points.
Holger Lösch, deputy managing director of the Federation of German Industries, told the Rheinische Post newspaper that selective deepening would allow ships to carry more cargo during periods of low water and make supply chains more resilient.
“The low-water conference in Bonn must mark the starting point for accelerating targeted deepening of the Rhine,” said Lösch.
Lösch also called for more investment in waterways, arguing that Germany’s transport infrastructure had been underfunded for decades.
He said planning and approval procedures also needed to be sped up significantly.
Germany’s inland shipping association likewise urged the government to act.
“It is high time that the importance of rivers and canals for Germany as a business location is recognized and given greater priority.”
Schwanen criticized decades of delays, noting that improving navigability of the Middle and Lower Rhine has been listed as an urgent priority in Germany’s federal transport infrastructure plan since 1992.
“It is shameful that the federal government has intended for 34 years to do something for freight shipping and its customers without all that much happening,” he said.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IN9MSkip next section Germany calls crisis talks over extreme low river levels08/06/2026August 6, 2026
Germany calls crisis talks over extreme low river levels
German Transport Minister Steffen Bilger is holding high-level talks in Bonn today as extreme low water levels disrupt shipping on the Rhine and other rivers.
Representatives from the shipping industry, ports and businesses are due to attend the meeting around lunchtime.
“We want to assess the current situation together and take short-term action where necessary,” Bilger told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper ahead of the talks.
He said the government also wanted to draw longer-term lessons and make Germany’s waterways more resilient to increasingly severe periods of low water.
Bilger is due to speak to reporters immediately after the meeting.
Low water levels are forcing inland cargo vessels to carry significantly lighter loads, pushing up transport costs and putting particular pressure on industries that rely on bulk freight.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5IN9JSkip next section Expert agrees Leipzig drone marks new threat level08/06/2026August 6, 2026
Expert agrees Leipzig drone marks new threat level
The discovery of an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport has marked a new level of danger to critical infrastructure, agrees aviation expert Hartmut Fricke.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt had also described the incident as a “new quality of threat” and a possible “hybrid attack scenario,” an assessment with which Fricke agreed.
Unlike previous drone incidents, the danger is no longer limited to a possible collision with an aircraft or damage caused by the drone itself, the Dresden University of Technology professor told Germany’s DPA news agency.
An explosive device significantly raises the potential risk, Fricke said.
Fricke said investigators now needed to establish where the drone came from, how it entered the airport’s restricted airspace undetected and why it was only discovered on the runway.
They should also examine how reliably existing security systems can detect small multicopter drones, he said.
If investigators confirm a deliberate attempted attack, the incident would show that Germany is still not good enough at detecting such small objects around critical infrastructure, Fricke said.
Radar, laser, camera and infrared systems can already be combined to detect drones at an early stage, while algorithms can help predict their flight paths.
“The developments are progressing well at prototype level, but implementation on the market and at facilities needs to happen faster,” Fricke said.
Asked whether similar incidents were likely to become more frequent, Fricke said: “Unfortunately yes, as long as Russia’s aggression does not stop.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5IMtXSkip next section What we know about the explosive drone defused at Leipzig Airport08/06/2026August 6, 2026
What we know about the explosive drone defused at Leipzig Airport
If you’re joining us now, here is what to know about this incident:
- German federal police specialists have defused a drone carrying an explosive device after an overnight security incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport
- The incident prompted the closure of parts of one of Europe’s largest cargo hubs
- The airport plays a key role in the transport of military goods and serves as a base for Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines
- Local news reported that the bomb disposal robot disabled the drone near an Antonov plane painted with the yellow and blue of the Ukrainian flag
- Investigators were also examining a second object that hit a cargo aircraft
- Berlin has opened a counterterrorism investigation
- Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt cut his summer break short to address the incident
- He said the armed drone found was a hybrid attack which opened a “new level of danger”
https://p.dw.com/p/5IMrRSkip next section Search continues after explosive drone found at Leipzig airport08/06/2026August 6, 2026
Search continues after explosive drone found at Leipzig airport
Investigators are continuing their work at Leipzig/Halle Airport a day after a drone carrying an explosive device was discovered on one of its runways.
Saxony’s State Criminal Police Office said the search for a second unidentified object would resume on Thursday morning.
The explosive-laden drone was found overnight Tuesday into Wednesday on the airport’s southern runway, according to investigators.
Security sources said it was lying near a Ukrainian Antonov An-124 Condor transport aircraft. Federal police specialists later defused the explosive device.
Investigators are also looking into a suspected second flying object that may have struck a cargo aircraft after it aborted its landing because of the runway closure.
Minor damage was discovered after the aircraft landed in Hanover.
Saxony Interior Minister Armin Schuster said authorities were still searching for parts of a possible second drone.
To read more about Wednesday’s drone developments, click here.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IMtZSkip next section Welcome to our coverage08/06/2026August 6, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Richard Connor | Roshni Majumdar Editor
Guten Tag from DW’s newsroom in Bonn.
You join us in the aftermath of an explosive-laden drone being discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
Police in the eastern state of Saxony say the search is underway for a second unidentified object that may have struck a cargo aircraft after it aborted its landing because of the initial drone discovery.
Germany’s interior minister, who has warned that we may be seeing a new level of threat, even cut short a vacation in Italy to keep up with developments in a top-level security briefing.
Stay with us here for these stories and more of the things that Germany is talking about today.
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