An explosion occurred this morning, just before 10, in a chemical plant in Leverkusen, in the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia. The newspaper Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger reported that the explosion occurred in the Chempark industrial park in Leverkusen at a waste incineration plant. The area is home to several companies, including Bayer Pharmaceuticals.
The causes are currently unknown, but the civil protection has classified the event as “highly dangerous”. Cologne police announced on Twitter that several people were injured in the blast and called for the access routes to the plant to be cleared. According to the first press release from the company that manages the chemical park, at least two employees were seriously injured and five people are missing.
The inhabitants were asked to keep doors and windows closed and to remain inside their homes. Many of the nearby major motorways have been closed to traffic as the cloud of smoke is moving northwest towards the cities of Burscheid and Leichlingen.
.