Status: 07/29/2021 4:42 p.m.
The number of deaths after the explosion in a Leverkusen chemical park has increased to five. Two other people are still missing. The police are considering using DNA samples in the further search.
Two days after the explosion in a Leverkusen waste incineration plant, emergency services found three more dead in the rubble. This was announced by the public prosecutor and the Cologne police. The number of now confirmed fatalities increased to five. Two people are still missing, the prosecutor said.
Warning of soot particles after an explosion in Leverkusen
David Zajonz, WDR, daily news 5:00 p.m., 7/28/2021
Police want to work with DNA samples
DNA samples from relatives could now also be used in the search. The police intended to “take DNA samples as a precautionary measure” from relatives of the missing person in order to “facilitate identification,” according to the public prosecutor’s office.
The huge explosion occurred on Tuesday morning in a waste incineration plant in Chempark and left a field of debris. According to the operating company Currenta, 31 people were injured.