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Explosion at German chemical complex declared extreme threat


Bangladeshpost
Published : 27 Jul 2021 07:37 PM

AP, Berlin

An explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies shook the German city of Leverkusen on Tuesday, sending a large black cloud rising into the air.

Germany’s Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance classified the explosion as “an extreme threat” and asked residents to stay inside and keep windows and doors closed, German news agency dpa reported.

Operators of the Chempark site in Leverkusen, about 20 kilometers (13 miles) north of Cologne on the Rhine river, said the cause of the explosion was unclear.

They said on Twitter that firefighters and pollution detection vans had been deployed.

Police in nearby Cologne said they did not have any information on the cause or size of the explosion and were not aware of any injuries at this point, but that a large number of police and ambulances had been deployed to the scene. They asked all residents to stay inside and warned people from outside of Leverkusen to avoid the region.

They also shut down several nearby major highways.

Daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger reported that the explosion took place in the Buerrig neigbborhood at a garbage incineration plant of the chemical park.