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Use in Hürth: The fire on the cars was fought with extinguishing foam
Photo: Mirko Wolf / dpa
According to the police, two people were injured in the explosion of a car in Hürth near Cologne on Monday.
A police spokesman said in the evening that there was a detonation in a car for an as yet unexplained cause.
A second car that was parked behind it also caught fire as a result of the incident in Hermülheimer Strasse, the message said.
A 55-year-old man who was in or on the first car was seriously burned.
He was flown to a clinic in a rescue helicopter.
According to the police, a 46-year-old eyewitness came to the aid of the burning man: He got a powder extinguisher from a nearby bakery and extinguished the 55-year-old on the opposite sidewalk.
The 46-year-old was injured and had to be treated in a hospital.
Emergency chaplains took care of passers-by who saw what was happening.
The affected section of the road should remain closed to traffic until Tuesday morning.
The cause of the explosion and other details are not yet known.
aar / dpa