The head of the German chemical park said he was “deeply saddened by this tragic accident and the death of an employee”
A body has now been recovered, but four people currently remain missing, following an explosion at a German industrial park for chemical companies.
The blast in Leverkusen, which has left at least sixteen other people injured, was declared an “extreme threat” by authorities.
Company officials said one body has now been found following the explosion, which happened at 9.40am local time (7.40am GMT).
The head of the industrial park, Lars Friedrich, said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened by this tragic accident and the death of an employee.
This comes after the UK’s NHS is currently as stretched now as it was at the pandemic’s peak back in January and things could be getting even worse, health leaders in the country have now said.
“Our special condolences go out particularly to the relatives, but also to the colleagues who have worked with him.”
The explosion caused a fire at a fuel depot at Chempark, an industrial park for chemical companies including Bayer and Lanxess, and took crews almost four hours to extinguish.
Chempark operator Current said multiple staff were hurt, with at least four seriously injured. It said it hopes those who remain missing will be found alive.
It is not yet clear what caused the explosion, Current added.
Sirens and emergency alerts on the German civil protection agency‘s mobile phone app warned citizens of “extreme danger”.
Police in nearby Cologne said they did not have any information about the cause or size of the explosion, but a large number of police, firefighters, helicopters and ambulances had been deployed to the scene.
Residents have been asked to remain inside their homes, keeping doors and windows closed.
This comes after a team from NASA and NOAA have recently found that Earth’s “energy imbalance” had doubled between the years of 2005 and 2019. The energy imbalance of heat within the planet is simple to understand but is complex in its causes and impacts upon the climate.
Current said air conditioning systems should also be turned off while it measured the air around the site for possible toxic gas.
Cologne Fire Brigade later tweeted that air pollution measurements showed “there is currently no danger” as there are “no abnormalities”.
Motorways nearby have been closed, with drivers told to take detours and avoid the area.
The city of Leverkusen said in a statement that the explosion at the Chempark site, about 20 kilometers (13 miles) north of Cologne on the Rhine river, occurred in storage tanks for solvents.
