Two deaths in one day - Hermes resumes operation in Haldensleben

After two deaths at the parcel service Hermes in Haldensleben (Saxony-Anhalt), the police are based on initial findings of an unfortunate chain of coincidences.

"There is no suspicion of a foreign influence," said Thomas Voigt, spokesman for the Otto Group, which belongs to Hermes, opposite the SPIEGEL.

With the late shift in the afternoon to Voigt according to the operation will be resumed.

On Tuesday morning, a dead man was first discovered. The 58-year-old had collapsed and died on the spot, said a police spokesman. In the afternoon, a parcel driver was found dead in a transport vehicle from Hermes. The 45-year-old sat lifeless in the driver's seat. "Our thoughts are with the relatives," said Voigt. The corpses of the two men are to be autopsied on Wednesday to clarify the cause of death. In addition, another man suffered on the grounds of the dispatch center according to police a "completely normal medical emergency".

120 forces in action

The unusual accumulation of disasters led into the early Wednesday morning into a large-scale deployment of the fire department. 120 forces were in action. The operation in the dispatch center Haldensleben with 3000 coworkers was temporarily stopped in the night to Wednesday as precaution. According to the police spokesman, the late shift was released earlier, the night shift did not begin. This is a precaution because two completely healthy people have died within a very short time.

In the meantime, the discovery of the smallest amounts of a substance on a parcel caused a stir on Wednesday. According to police, he could be dangerous in large quantities. The fire department therefore opened all packages in the van, in which the man had delivered packages before his death on Tuesday. A short time later there was an all-clear. "These were normal delivery packages with commercial content," said the police spokesman. About the amount of substance found, he said, "The dose needed to die has not been reached."

At the Haldensleben site, Hermes handles not only warehouse logistics, but also parcel delivery.