Emergency crews have completed the cleanup of a pipeline leak that spilt at least 200,000 litres (about 53,000 gallons) of crude oil onto farmland in the state of Brandenburg, north of Berlin.

The leak in the pipeline, which transports oil from the Baltic Sea port of Rostock to the Schwedt refinery, occurred on Wednesday evening near the village of Gramzow during what officials described as a workplace accident.

A spokesman for regional emergency coordination confirmed that firefighters concluded their operation between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. local time. 

The Schwedt fire brigade reported that the oil initially shot several meters into the air from a small leak at a pumping station before settling on the adjacent agricultural land.

Refinery operator PCK said preliminary findings indicate the incident was caused by preparatory work for a scheduled safety test on the pipeline, ruling out any deliberate interference.

Alexander Trenn, head of the Schwedt fire brigade, told German news agency dpa that crews successfully removed all visible spillage. He noted that special suction vehicles and heavy machinery were used to collect the significant quantity of oil and contain its spread. 

Roughly 100 firefighters and 25 PCK employees were involved in the overnight response, with PCK now responsible for handling the subsequent environmental remediation efforts. 

Brandenburg’s environment minister, Hanka Mittelstädt, was expected to visit the site on Thursday to assess the extent of the damage to the affected countryside.