Germany: Residents asked to stay indoors after an explosion at a chemical park

Cause of the explosion is unclear

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ ITDC NEWS An explosion at a chemical park shook the German city of Leverkusen on Tuesday, sending a large black cloud rising into the air.

Germany's Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance classified the explosion as an extreme threat and asked residents to stay inside and keep windows and doors closed, German news agency dpa reported.

Operators of the Chempark site in Leverkusen, about 20 km (13 miles) north of Cologne on the Rhine river, said the cause of the explosion was unclear.

They said on Twitter that firefighters and pollution detection vans had been deployed.

Police could not immediately be reached for further details.

Daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger reported that the explosion took place in the Buerrig neigbborhood at a garbage incineration plant.

Leverkusen is home to Bayer, one of Germany's biggest chemical companies.