One dead, five missing after explosion at a German industrial park

The city of Leverkusen said in a statement that the explosion at the Chempark site, about 20 kilometres (13 miles) north of Cologne on the Rhine river, occurred in storage tanks for solvents.

One dead, five missing after explosion at a German industrial park
Explosion

One person has reportedly died and five are missing, following an explosion at a German industrial park for chemical companies.

The blast in Leverkusen has been declared an "extreme threat" by authorities and left at least sixteen people injured.

The explosion happened at 9.40 am local time (7.40 am GMT) and caused a fire at a fuel depot at Chempark, an industrial park for chemical companies including Bayer and Lanxess.

It took crews almost four hours to extinguish the ensuing fire.

Chempark operator Currenta said several staff were hurt, with at least four seriously injured and a further five missing.

It is not yet clear what caused the explosion, Currenta added.

Sirens and emergency alerts on the German civil protection agency's mobile phone app warned citizens of "extreme danger".

Skynews