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| Acid fumes over German town after leak at chemical plant (IMAGES) | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Toxic fumes have been reported in the western German town of Oberhausen following a leak from an acid tank belonging to a chemical plant. Fire brigades have evacuated the neighborhood and residents have been told not to leave their homes, local media report. | |
| The leak occurred at facilities belonging to Hamm Chemie company, according to Rheinische Post, citing the local fire department. The tank had contained about 600 cubic meters of 96-percent sulfuric acid, but it is now completely empty, a spokesman for the fire department said. | |
| “We are currently checking out whether we can reduce the cloud of the harmful substance,” fire department spokesman Joerg Preussner said, explaining the fire brigades would have to spray water up into the air to neutralize the pollutants and clean the air. | |
| No injuries have been reported so far, but the emergency services have urged residents to close their doors and windows and refrain from leaving their homes. | |
| As toxic fumes spread in the area, Oberhausen’s authorities have requested support from neighboring cities. A disaster relief unit is expected to arrive from the town of Kleve, while reinforcements for the city fire brigades are coming from Essen and Duisburg, according to RP. | |
| According to the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ), several main roads leading to and from Oberhausen’s industrial area have been sealed off. | |
| The accident has also disrupted train and ship services, causing kilometer-long traffic jams in the central and western parts of Oberhausen’s downtown area. | |
| Deutsche Bahn expects the closure of railway lines between Oberhausen’s central station and neighboring towns will last until Thursday afternoon. |