Two killed, 31 injured in explosion at industrial park in Germany

Two people were killed, 31 injured and several were missing after an explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies in Germany, said media reports.

Washington Post quoting fire officials reported the explosion at the waste management facility of the Chempark site in Leverkusen, near Cologne, sent a large black cloud into the air.

It took firefighters almost four hours to extinguish the fire after the explosion.

Germany's Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance initially classified the incident as "an extreme threat."

On Tuesday, however, the Cologne fire department tweeted that pollution measurements "do not show any kind of abnormality." They said the smoke had diminished but that they would continue to measure the air for toxins.

The city of Leverkusen said the explosion occurred in storage tanks for solvents.

Chempark operator Currenta later said that a second fatality had been confirmed. It put the number of injured at 31 and said five employees were missing.

Currenta said the explosion happened at 9.40 am and then developed into a fire. It said three big tanks were affected by the explosion, but that it was too early to know the cause, the Washington Post further reported.

( With inputs from ANI )