- There are currently 160 firefighters at the site, wearing protective suits
A poisonous cloud is hanging over Berlin after a chemical factory blaze, with firefighters warning deadly hydrogen cyanide could develop.
Firefighters said sulphuric acid and copper cyanide were stored at the plant and the chemicals ignited, which could create hydrogen cyanide to rise into the air.
People were warned to close all windows, stay inside and switch off ventilation units after the fire hit the firm that makes weapons supplied to Ukraine.
The state of Berlin has issued an official danger warning and urged people to stay away from the area as the cloud of smoke is already spanning over nearly all of the western area of the city.
‘The building is now completely burned through on four floors. Part of the building has already collapsed,’ Adrian Wenzel, spokesman for the Berlin fire department and on site at the scene of the fire, told German tabloid Bild.
A poisonous cloud is hanging over Berlin after a chemical factory blaze, with firefighters warning deadly hydrogen cyanide could develop
People were warned to close all windows, stay inside and switch off ventilation units after the fire hit the firm that makes weapons supplied to Ukraine
The blaze was at Diehl Metal Applications in Berlin’s Lichterfelde district, which is a sister company to the Diehl Defense concern, manufacturer of the deadly IRIS-T, which also has its headquarters on the same street
In the building that is on fire, the company reportledy operates its own electroplating system for refining metal surfaces in the building
He added: ‘We are only trying to put out the fire from the outside. The fire can no longer be brought under control from the inside.’
There are currently 160 firefighters at the site, wearing protective suits.
The blaze was at Diehl Metal Applications in Berlin’s Lichterfelde district, which is a sister company to the Diehl Defence concern, manufacturer of the deadly IRIS-T missiles, which are supplied to Ukraine.
Diehl Defence has its headquarters on the same street as the burning building. Diehl Metal Applications reportledy operates its own electroplating system for refining metal surfaces in the building that is on fire.
Students and teachers from nearby schools have been sent home as a precaution and several shops in the area have also closed.
There is no currently no information available on the cause of the fire, but the spokesman for the fire department said there have been no injuries reported.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
