All-clear for the majority of residents: After an ammonia leak in a company in Lower Bavaria with several injuries, the warning outside of the affected district of Ortenburg (Passau district) has been lifted. “Residents in and around Sammarei are still being asked to keep doors and windows closed,” police said on Tuesday evening. However, measurements by the fire brigade had shown that the danger area, which previously extended to Pocking on the border with Austria, a good 20 kilometers away, could be significantly restricted.
An attempt is now being made to bind the remaining gas, said the police operations manager. However, it is not yet possible to estimate how long it will take for the all-clear to be given. “Around 190 emergency services from the fire brigade, rescue service and police are on site.” According to the latest information, eight injured people have been taken to hospitals. At least nine people were said to have been injured. The reason for the difference could not initially be clarified. Perhaps not all of the injured had to go to the clinic, the head of operations suspected.
The helpers initially assumed that around 800 kilograms of ammonia had escaped. They first brought all those affected to safety; According to initial information from the police, around 50 people were affected by the evacuation. The workers should be medically screened after the evacuation.
Authority advises caution
The district office of Passau has set up a citizen hotline that those affected can contact with questions. The authorities also pointed out that ventilation systems should be switched off in the surrounding villages and in the south-easterly wind direction of the Sammarei district and that if possible not be outdoors.
According to the Federal Environment Agency, ammonia is a gaseous nitrogen compound. It spreads in the air, reacts with other air pollutants and forms fine dust. Ammonia itself and the fine dust particles formed in the air therefore endanger human health and damage plants and ecosystems.
