BREAKING NEWS: Two dead and 31 injured after massive explosion at German chemical plant

Two people have been killed and 31 have been injured after a massive explosion at a German chemical plant.

German rescue crews are searching through the rubble for four missing people after a massive explosion killed at least two people, injured 31 and reduced a chemicals plant near Cologne to just a smoking crater.

“We hope that we can rescue the missing people alive,” said Lars Friedrich, the head of Chempark.

The explosion took place today on Tuesday (July 27) at 9.40 am in the morning at a plant in Leverkusen located 16km from Cologne.

A spokesman for the firm Currenta (operators of the plant) confirmed the deaths on Tuesday afternoon, saying five more were in a critical condition after a tank containing solvents caught fire.

According to reports from the emergency services, the fire spread to three tanks in total,  the resulting blaze sending massive plumes of dark smoke into the air, which triggered emergency sirens in Leverkusen and environs.

Residents were warned to close all windows and remain indoors, Germany’s emergency app warned of “extreme danger” and all motorways around the area were blocked to allow access for the fire crews.

It took three hours to extinguish, the first aerial shots of the plant showed a massive black crater, widespread debris and a sea of white fire-fighting foam.

Leverkusen mayor Uwe Richrath said the detonation was so strong that it was registered by geological sensors 40km away.

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