Two dead, several missing in explosion at chemical park in Germany
- Germany’s NINA warning app sent an ‘extreme danger’ alert to residents, telling them to stay at home and shut doors and windows
- Another 31 people were injured in the incident at the Chempark complex, five of them seriously, Leverkusen authorities said
An explosion in a German industrial estate on Tuesday killed at least two people and injured 31, setting off a fierce blaze that sent a pall of smoke over the western city of Leverkusen. Several people were still missing.
Emergency services took three hours to extinguish the fire at the Chempark site, home to chemicals companies Bayer and Lanxess, that flared up after the blast at 9.40am local time, park operator Currenta said.
Five of the injured are receiving intensive medical care, police said.
“My thoughts are with the injured and with loved ones,” said Chempark chief Lars Friedrich. “The search for the missing is running at high pressure. Unfortunately, hope is disappearing that we will find them alive.
The blast caused a plume of dense smoke over the city on the Rhine River. Leverkusen has long been a major centre of the chemicals sector.
“This is a tragic moment for the city of Leverkusen,” said Uwe Richrath, mayor of the city, which lies north of Cologne.