Dense, pitch-black smoke rises into the sky above Europa-Park in Rust. Many visitors stop, making videos of a burning attraction: the “Yomi Magic World of Diamonds”. A major fire broke out on Monday where young and older park visitors would otherwise marvel at a replica mine on foot, in which colorful mythical creatures mine diamonds. Flames erupt from the roof. Much is unclear at first, the smoke clears only slowly.
A first, cautious all-clear comes about an hour and a half after the fire broke out. According to the police, the fire broke out in a technical room in the building through which the family attractions of the “Alpenexpress “Enzian”” and the “Tiroler Wildwasserbahn” also run. A large number of firefighters brought the fire under control. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries. According to district fire chief Bernhard Frei, around 400 fire brigade, rescue service and police forces were deployed.
It was initially unclear how many people visited the amusement park on Monday. According to initial findings, there were no injuries among them. “The security mechanisms – such as fire alarms and alarm plans – have worked smoothly according to the current status,” the police said. The visitors were addressed directly and asked to leave the park.
According to eyewitnesses, this happened calmly and without panic. Employees would have sent people to the exit, said Moritz Panter of the German Press Agency. “I think they responded really well.” You could tell that most of them were nervous, but they had everything under control. In particular, the affected area was cordoned off very quickly. “Some people got scared,” said his companion Nadine Leuthner. In view of the crowds of visitors, however, these were isolated cases.
The park was cleared quickly and orderly, the family business said. The overnight guests were therefore able to return to the hotels promptly. Europa-Park initially did not provide any information about the extent of the damage. The cause of the fire was also not immediately known. Criminal police investigators were already on site in the evening.
The park plans to reopen on Tuesday. The areas around the scene of the fire will very likely not be accessible, said a spokeswoman. It was initially unclear exactly what that would be. Europa-Park is Germany’s largest amusement park. Last year, more than six million people came to the facility with roller coasters and other attractions in the Ortenau district near the German-French border – that was a record.
There had already been a major fire there on May 26, 2018: Most of the thematic areas of Scandinavia and Holland had fallen victim to the flames. Restaurants, shops and the “Pirates in Batavia” ride were destroyed. According to the public prosecutor, the fire was caused by a technical defect and caused millions in damage.
Seven police and firefighters were slightly injured. Around 500 women and men were involved in the operation. There were around 25,000 visitors to the amusement park that day. More than two years later “Pirates in Batavia” was reopened.
It was only at the beginning of this month that there was a fire in the Karls Erlebnis-Dorf amusement park near Berlin. Several buildings in an area of around 400 square meters in Elstal, Brandenburg, were on fire. Ten people were injured, according to the fire brigade there was property damage in the “six-digit range”. The operation of the amusement park was resumed the following day.
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