Climate protestors storm Garzweiler coal mine in Germany

Hundreds of protesters joined forces to break into the mine and march through it

Hundreds of climate change activists have stormed an open cast coal mine in western Germany to campaign against fossil fuels.
The protesters ran through fields and broke through a police cordon to get into the Garzweiler mine.
Police had warned that the mine was not safe and said some officers were hurt as they tried to hold back protesters.
Germany has vowed to go carbon neutral by 2050 but activists say this is not soon enough.
Recent surveys have shown that climate change tops a list of concerns in Germany, with the Green party polling alongside the governing Christian Democrats.

 

 

  
Police tried to hold back protesters from entering the mine, which they said was dangerous 

               

Earlier in the day, protesters temporarily blocked a railway line used to transport coal. Some of the activists were among between 20,000 and 40,000 protesters who joined a demonstration on Friday in the city of Aachen in support of the school strike movement launched by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg.

 

Protesters carried camping gear, suggesting they intended to spend some time in the mine

 

 Police said some officers were harmed trying to prevent protesters from entering the mine

 

Dressed in white protective clothing, protesters ran over the sides of the mine to enter the premises

 

After storming the mine, activists used foil blankets to shield themselves from the sun

 

Climate activists blocked the rail tracks leading to the Hambach surface mine