At least 200,000 litres of crude oil leaked overnight from Wednesday to Thursday from a damaged pipeline in Brandenburg in northeastern Germany – the dpa agency reported, citing the regional crisis management authority. By early morning, emergency services managed to stop the leak.
Oil was gushing from the pipeline to a height of several dozen metres. The Brandenburg fire service stopped the leak after 2 a.m., with more than 100 firefighters taking part in the operation.
Initial findings indicate that the leak occurred during preparatory work for a planned pipeline safety test, so deliberate third-party action has been ruled out.
The incident occurred near the village of Gramzow in the Uckermark district in northeastern Germany, close to the Polish border.
The pipeline runs from the port of Rostock on the Baltic Sea to the PCK refinery, which is the main fuel supplier for Brandenburg and Berlin. The town of Schwedt, where the refinery is located, lies on the Oder River, right next to the border with Poland.
🇩🇪 Wyciek ropy z rurociągu łączącego rosyjską rafinerię PCK Schwedt z portem w Rostocku. Gramzow, 20+ km od granicy z Polską.
„Z relacji wynika, że ropa wydostaje się z rurociągu pod dużym ciśnieniem, osiągając strumień wysokości kilkunastu metrów”. https://t.co/IM4UxnCIxo pic.twitter.com/Gawpe9s1lo
— Dariusz Matecki (@DariuszMatecki) December 11, 2025