Accidents
Huge clouds of smoke over Hamburg – scrap metal is burning in the harbor
The fire brigade is fighting the fire in the port of Hamburg. Photo
© Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa/Daniel Bockwoldt
A huge cloud of smoke paralyzes parts of the Harburg port traffic. The fire brigade is called out on a major operation. The reason for this is a burning pile of scrap metal. The State Criminal Police Office is now investigating.
The dark smoke came from a pile of scrap metal that had caught fire for an initially unknown reason. According to the fire department, around 600 square meters of metal waste was on fire on company premises. The police – specifically the State Criminal Police Office – want to start investigating after extinguishing the fire in order to find out how the fire started. The fire department with more than 80 men and women was on duty for more than four hours. According to police and fire officials, no one was injured in the fire.
The fire did have an impact, however: in the morning, shipping traffic on the Southern Elbe in the Harburg district was restricted. The reason for this was the heavy smoke and the associated reduced visibility. Due to the risk of accidents, the water police had closed the Southern Elbe around the fire to shipping traffic. The waterways are now open again. In the Harburg industrial area, the police also cleared an affected street. According to a police spokesman, they wanted to ensure that the fire-fighting operations could be carried out without disruption.
South of Hamburg affected
The huge cloud of smoke that had spread south of the Elbe in the morning affected the districts of Heimfeld, Harburg and Wilhelmsburg. The population in the area was warned of the effects of the smoke until midday. Due to the wind direction, the warning was briefly extended to Neuallermöhe and the A25. At around 12.20 p.m., the fire brigade lifted the alarm.
According to police reports, the closures were lifted again in the early afternoon. Since midday there have been fewer emergency services at the scene of the fire, it was said on the platform X (formerly Twitter). You are now responsible for the subsequent extinguishing work. This would take a long time because, according to a fire department spokesman, the pile of scrap must first be removed in order to reach all the embers.
According to the fire department spokesman, smoke is generally harmful to health. However, no unusual pollutants have been identified so far. It was initially unclear to what extent the environment would be damaged. According to the fire department, the smoke cloud was continuously tested for pollutants.