State of ‘extreme danger’ declared in Hamburg after toxic cloud from fire covers the German city

A huge cloud of toxic black smoke given off by two warehouse fires in the German city of Hamburg has led to a state of ‘extreme danger’ being declared by the authorities.

A state of ‘extreme danger’ was declared this morning, Sunday, April 9, in the German city of Hamburg. The alert is the result of two warehouses initially catching fire in Billstrasse at around 4:40am, in the Rothenburgsort district. This has subsequently produced clouds of thick black smoke which are pouring up into the sky, as reported by ndr.de.

Video footage posted on the Disaster News Telegram channel showed the extent of the fire.

In an official warning on Sunday morning, the fire and the smoke development were classified as ‘extreme danger’. The population could be affected “by smoke gases and chemical components in the air we breathe”, the authorities warned.

Confirming the situation, a spokesman for Hamburg Fire Brigade said: “The centre of Hamburg is completely dark”. The burning facilities are located along the banks of the River Elbe, east of the city centre.

+++UPDATE 2+++

Feuerwehreinsatz in Gleisnähe bei Hamburg #Rothenburgsort.

Eingeschränkter Zugverkehr nun wieder möglich. Es kommt noch zu Folgeverspätungen.

Bitte Reiseverbindung überprüfen.

— Deutsche Bahn Verkehrsmeldungen (@DB_Info) April 9, 2023

“Official warning of @FeuerwehrHH: Area #Hamburg #Rothenburgsort can be affected by smoke gases & chemical components in the breathing air due to a fire in a warehouse. The cloud of smoke is moving towards the city centre!”, Hamburg Police tweeted.

+++AKTUELL+++
Amtliche Warnung der @FeuerwehrHH:
Im Bereich #Hamburg #Rothenburgsort kann durch Rauchgase & chemische Bestandteile in der Atemluft aufgrund eines Brandes einer Lagehalle beeinträchtigt werden.
Die Rauchwolke zieht in Richtung stadteinwärts!

1/ pic.twitter.com/TB5kF5iCpu

— Polizei Hamburg (@PolizeiHamburg) April 9, 2023

Firefighters have not yet provided information on the contents of the warehouses. However, sources from local public broadcaster NDR suggested that the warehouses were spewing hydrogen sulfide into the atmosphere. Firefighting teams were said to be unable to combat the flames without the use of breathing apparatus.

Six fire appliances from the professional fire brigade, several volunteer fire brigades, the Technical Relief Agency and the police took part in fighting the fire – a total of around 220 emergency services personnel.

According to initial findings from the fire department, no one was injured. A hostel near the scene of the fire was evacuated and 39 people were also housed and cared for at the fire academy in Billbrook.

Such is the extent of the problem that Deutsche Bahn, the German rail operator, also announced that its service between Hamburg and the town of Büchen had to be suspended due to the fire.

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