Two dead, five missing in German chemical park explosion 

Leverkusen, Germany – Two people have been killed and five are missing in a 27 July fire at a chemical park in, Leverkusen, western Germany.

The fire broke out at 9:40 am at Bürrig hazardous waste disposal center at Chempark Leverkusen, which is home to approximately 200 production plants from suppliers such as Arlanxeo, Lanxess, Momentive and Bayer. 

“My thoughts are with the injured and their loved ones. The search for the missing is still going on at full speed. Unfortunately, the hope of finding them alive is dwindling,” said Chempark manager Lars Friedrich in a press conference 27 July.

Some 31 employees were injured in the fire, the cause of which is still unknown. 

In its latest update, Chempark said operations in the park have been “brought into a safe condition” and power supply has been secured for companies to resume their operations.

According to its website, more than 5,000 chemicals – mainly nitration and chlorination products, aromatics, fine chemicals and silicon chemicals – are manufactured at Chempark Leverkusen's 480-hectare site.