LEVERKUSEN (Germany), July 27 (NNN-Xinhua) — At least 16 people were injured and several others were missing after an explosion at an integrated chemical site in the western German city of Leverkusen on Tuesday morning, local media reported.
The explosion happened at Chempark Leverkusen at around 9:40 a.m. for a previously unknown cause, with subsequent fire in the tank farm of a disposal center, said Currenta, the company operating the Chempark site, in a statement online.
Several employees were injured, with at least two of them seriously hurt, and five remained missing, the Currenta statement also said.
Local news portal Rheinische Post later said that 16 people were injured, four of them severely. The search for the missing people is underway.
The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance classified the explosion as “an extreme threat” and asked residents to stay indoors and keep their windows closed, German news agency DPA reported. Local police have shut down several nearby highways.
Leverkusen is about 11 km north of Cologne. Chempark is an industrial park for chemical companies, including German chemical giant Bayer. — NNN-XINHUA
