© Axel Heimken/AFP/ Getty ImagesFirefighters with multiple vehicles stand in front of Hamburg airport as passengers leave the terminal in Hamburg Aiport during an evacuation after people reported an unusual smell as well as respiratory ailments and watering eyes.
It all started with people complaining of breathing difficulties after being exposed to unidentified unpleasant odors at the airport in Hamburg on Sunday morning, Hamburger Morgenpost reported.
Terminal 1 and 2 were then evacuated and hundreds of passengers had to wait outside at almost below zero temperatures.
A pepper spray or a similar substance is most likely behind the incident, a spokesman for the firefighters said, noting that a refill cartridge had been found which could have caused the health problems, DPA reported. The substance was then presumably spread through the building by the air conditioning system.
The possibility of a terrorist attack has been ruled out, the spokesman added.
An airport official earlier said that a gas leak could be behind the breathing problems, irritated eyes, and nausea, DPA reported.
A source earlier told Bild that the unknown substance might have gotten into the airport's air-conditioning system.
The environmental services of the fire brigade are currently trying to establish exactly what the substance was.
The firebrigade that responded to the call set up first aid posts for those who inhaled the substance.
Flights were cancelled for more than an hour because of the emergency, Hamburg airport said on Twitter.
The roads leading to the airport were also temporarily closed as well as the S-Bahn railways, according to DPA.
Hamburg airport "has come back to normal," RT's Ilya Petrenko reported from outside one of the terminals.
The air traffic resumed at around 2 pm local time (13:00 GMT).
Comment: The injured toll has been increased from 50 to 68.