Police have warned residents of Hamburg to close their windows today after a large fire engulfed two warehouses sending back smoke above the German city.
The fire broke out at around 4.30am in the Rothenburgsort district, which is located in the eastern part of Germany's second-largest city, news agency dpa said.
Chemical-laden smoke drifted towards the city centre, halting long-distance trains between Hamburg and Berlin as well as other major cities.
A public safety alert conveyed through a mobile phone app advised people in Hamburg to close windows, turn off ventilation and air conditioning, and to avoid the area. No injuries were reported.
An official warning classified the fire and smoke in the city as an "extreme danger".
Public broadcaster NDR said the fire involved containers with hydrogen sulfide, a toxic and foul-smelling substance, forcing firefighters and police officers in the area to wear breathing apparatus.
Multiple police, fire and other emergency services rushed to the scene and 140 people were forced to evacuate the area.
NDR reported that there were numerous explosions. Emergency services were not able to confirm what was being burned inside the warehouses or what caused the blaze.
An alert from the Hamburg fire department said: "Smoke gases and chemical components in the air caused by a warehouse fire can affect breathing.
"The cloud of smoke is moving towards the city centre!"
A spokesman for the fire brigade said Hamburg's city centre was "completely blacked out" when the fire broke out.
This morning, the national railway company Deutsche Bahn announced a closure between Hamburg and Buchen due to the fire.
It said trains between Hamburg and Berlin would be diverted and delayed by around 90 minutes.
A police spokesperson said the sky had become dark because of the huge fire but because of the weather, it was not possible to determine how much of it was smoke and how much were clouds.
