Five people missing after explosion rocks German chemicals site UPDATE: Classified as an 'Extreme Threat'

Maria Sheahan and Madeline Chambers
Reuters
Tue, 27 Jul 2021 12:23 UTC

© Anna Fross/via REUTERS

Smoke billows following an explosion in Wiesdorf, Leverkusen, Germany July 27, 2021, in this photo obtained from social media.

Five people were missing and several injured after an explosion rocked an industrial park in the western German city of Leverkusen on Tuesday, sending up plumes of smoke and prompting police to ask nearby residents to remain in their homes.

The explosion happened at 9.40 a.m. local time (0740 GMT), causing a fire at a fuel depot at Chempark, an industrial park for chemicals companies including Bayer (BAYGn.DE) and Lanxess (LXSG.DE), Chempark operator Currenta said.

Several staff were hurt, with at least two seriously injured, and five people were missing, Currenta said, adding it was not yet clear what caused the explosion and the subsequent fire.

Sirens and emergency alerts on the German civil protection agency's mobile phone app warned citizens of "extreme danger".

Police asked nearby residents to remain indoors and keep doors and windows closed. Currenta said they should also turn off air conditioning systems while it measured the air around the site for possible toxic gas.

Several nearby motorways were closed, and police said drivers should take detours to avoid the area.

More than 30 companies operate at the Chempark site in Leverkusen, including Covestro (1COV.DE), Bayer, Lanxess and Arlanxeo, according to its website.

Bayer and Lanxess in 2019 sold Chempark operator Currenta to Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MQG.AX) for an enterprise value of 3.5 billion euros ($4.12 billion).

Comment: UPDATE: From The Guardian:

An explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies has shaken the German city of Leverkusen, sending a large black cloud into the air. Several people were injured and five remain missing.

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, the German news agency dpa reported.

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

Currenta, the company operating the chemical park, said in a statement that several employees were injured, at least two of them severely, and five people remained missing.

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