Leverkusen: Police want to investigate the location of the explosion in Chempark on Thursday

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Chempark in Leverkusen: Traces of explosion can be seen on a building

Photo: David Young / dpa

After the explosion in a waste incineration plant in Leverkusen, the police want to start investigations at the scene of the accident on Thursday.

A police spokesman said on Wednesday that an expert and a person in charge of the affected Chempark should inspect the site.

The search for missing employees is currently still in the foreground.

According to an early morning spokesman, five people have still not been found.

According to Chempark manager Lars Friedrich on Tuesday evening, two people died, 31 were seriously injured, and one of them was in mortal danger.

The hope of finding the missing people still alive is diminishing, said Friedrich.

The huge explosion, which could still be felt many kilometers away, occurred on Tuesday morning.

According to the operating company Currenta, a tank farm in a disposal center was affected.

Solvents would have burned.

A huge cloud of smoke rose that could be seen for miles.

Residents were asked to go to closed rooms and to keep windows and doors closed.

Only in the afternoon was the warning lifted for most parts of the city in Leverkusen - in the particularly affected district of Bürrig, it was valid until the evening.

Because of the possible pollutant emissions, residents were also warned against consuming fruit and vegetables from their own garden.

"There are reports of soot deposits," said State Health Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser (CDU) the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger".

It is only possible to assess the situation more precisely at the end of the week.

According to the company, the Chempark is one of the largest chemical parks in Europe.

More than 70 companies are located at the three locations in Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld-Uerdingen.

bbr / dpa