Bomb threat closes Germany’s Oktoberfest, beer spill blocks highway
A man was suspected of having caused the explosion and fire in his parents’ house before killing himself.
A man was suspected of having caused the explosion and fire in his parents’ house before killing himself.
BERLIN (AFP) — Germany’s Oktoberfest was temporarily closed by a bomb threat Wednesday, organizers said, as police investigated a house in Munich that had been rigged with explosives then set alight, leaving one man dead.
Police deployed a bomb squad along with firefighters to the residential house in Lerchenau district of the city early in the morning, as a column of smoke rose in the sky.
They said the house had been rigged with explosives and then set on fire.
The badly wounded man was found a short distance away, and later died of his injuries, police said.
Bild daily reported that a man was suspected of having caused the explosion and fire in his parents’ house before killing himself, and that shots had been fired in the incident, but police did not confirm this.
Police said they were investigating any possible link to the Oktoberfest, held annually near the center of the Bavarian capital on the Theresienwiese fair grounds.
“Due to a bomb threat in connection with the explosion in northern Munich, Theresienwiese will remain closed until 5 p.m. for the time being,” said a statement on the Oktoberfest website.
The festival, which is held this year from 20 September to 5 October, is considered the largest funfair in the world. It welcomed 6.7 million visitors in 2024.
Meanwhile, thousands of cans of beer blocked a United States highway Tuesday after a truck crash that left gallons of booze all over the road.
Several vehicles were involved in the accident north of Los Angeles, which occurred before dawn and snarled traffic through the morning commute.
Video footage from the scene showed emergency workers picking their way through scattered cans and rolling kegs off the freeway.
