Major fire in the port

XXL cloud worries Hamburg – possibly toxic!

A whole 60 tons of scrap metal have been burning in the port of Hamburg since 4 a.m. The fire department is sending out warnings to the public via apps. There are fears that the cloud of smoke contains toxic substances.

A huge pile of scrap metal is burning in the 2nd Hafenstraße in Hamburg-Harburg. Around 60,000 kilos of metal covering an area of 20 by 30 meters are said to be on fire, according to the fire department. Around 80 firefighters are on site and are doing their utmost to get the situation under control.

The fire department takes a close look at the cloud with measuring equipment and tests it for pollutants. Thousands of liters of water are pumped into the embers. A fireboat is also on the scene, reports the newspaper "Bild", among others.

Residents were warned via app: "Smoke fumes from a fire can endanger you in the Hamburg-Heimfeld area. The cloud of smoke is heading north-east. The following districts are affected: Heimfeld, Harburg, Wilhelmsburg."

People are asked to avoid the area
People are asked to avoid the affected area and to close windows and doors. Ventilation and air conditioning systems should be switched off.

The fire department had to block shipping traffic in the Südelbe area. This was because they wanted to pull the burning scrap apart from the water using grabs. It will then be extinguished in small quantities.