Six people were slightly injured when a previously unknown hazardous substance escaped in Singen, Baden-Württemberg. The police announced this in the evening. However, no explosives were detected during measurements by the fire brigade. After the specialists gave the all-clear around 8:30 p.m., all barriers were lifted again, the police said.
The smell of gas was reported from an underground car park at midday. According to the police, part of the city center was then evacuated. The six injured people had skin or respiratory irritation. Around 20 other people were contaminated. That means they had complaints but were not injured, the spokesman reported.
The fire department is trying to find out what hazardous substance it was, it said. The responsible district office also reported in the evening: “It is currently unclear what the substance is.”
According to the police, they were also checking whether there was a connection to an irritant gas incident that morning in a law firm in downtown Singen. There, two masked perpetrators sprayed irritant gas and fled. Two suspects were arrested during the day, it was said in the evening.
Hours of massive effort
A large-scale operation ran throughout the day in the community around 30 kilometers northwest of Konstanz. The fire brigade, police, emergency services and specialists for dangerous goods were involved. Among other things, paramedics could be seen in protective suits.
Residents of the city of 50,000 residents not far from Lake Constance were asked via a warning app to close windows and doors and turn off the ventilation and air conditioning systems. The app also advised people to avoid the city center.
So-called decontamination units and treatment centers were set up on site to provide emergency care to those affected, as the district office further reported.
