‘EXTREME DANGER’ WARNING ISSUED AS LARGE FIRE RAGES IN HAMBURG

Sun 09 Apr 2023:

Hamburg’s fire brigade has issued an “extreme danger” alert as a cloud possibly containing “chemical components” drifts towards the city centre.

The German city’s authorities are advising people to avoid the area and told residents to close doors, windows and ventilation.

Two warehouses have been on fire in the northern German port city of Hamburg since early Sunday morning.

The fire brigade has warned of the danger from smoke gases and chemical components in the air breathed.

The cloud of smoke is moving from the warehouses in the city’s Rothenburgsort district in the direction of the city centre.

The fire brigade could not initially give any information on how exactly the large fire could have occurred during the night or what exactly was in the burning warehouses.

A spokesman for the fire brigade told NDR that Hamburg city center was “completely blacked out,” when the fire broke out.

In an official warning published by Hamburg police, it said the smoke development was classified as “extreme danger” and recommended residents to avoid the affected area and to “drive around the affected area as far as possible.”

German rail operator Deutsche Bahn also announced that the tracks between Hamburg and Büchen must be closed due to the fire.

Firefighting efforts are ongoing.

The fire brigade has warned of the danger from smoke gases and chemical components in the air breathed. The cloud of smoke is moving from the warehouses in the city's Rothenburgsort district in the direction of the city centre. pic.twitter.com/aqcVqbY7YS

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) April 9, 2023

Evacuations

Police in the German city of Hamburg have also warned locals on Sunday of possible toxins in the air after a fire at a storage facility.

Some 140 people have been evacuated, and it is not yet possible to say how dangerous the situation is, a police spokesperson said.

The police spokesperson said the sky had darkened as a result but the weather made it difficult to determine how much was smoke and how much was clouds.

Police and fire authorities were currently assessing the situation, the spokesperson said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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