Toxic cloud

A STATE of ‘extreme danger’ was declared on Sunday, April 9, in the German city of Hamburg. The alert was the result of two warehouses initially catching fire in Billstrasse at around 4.40am, in the Rothenburgsort district. This subsequently produced clouds of thick black smoke which poured up into the sky, as reported by a news source.

THE French President, Emmanuel Macron, arrived in Beijing alongside the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen for a highly anticipated meeting with the Chinese President, Xi Jinping on Wednesday, April 5. The pair had a series of political and business engagements planned in the Asian nation.

The three leaders held a summit the following day to discuss a range of issues including the war in Ukraine with the European leaders pressing Xi to take further steps to halt the Ukraine war.

The pair took a ‘tag team’ approach, with Macron playing ‘good cop’ and von der Leyen playing ‘bad cop’, as they encouraged Xi to ex­ ert influence over his ally, Putin.

The leaders’ show of unity is an attempt to prevent the Chinese exploiting differences within Europe. Their joint arrival is also part of a push from European leaders to engage with China, despite the increasingly fraught trade relationship between the European Union and China, its biggest trading partner.

Their trip coincided with a business conference held in Beijing which was attended by a whole host of European business leaders with burgeoning interests in the Chinese market.

In an official warning on Sunday morning, the fire and the smoke development were classified as ‘extreme danger’. The population could be affected “by smoke gases and chemical components in the air we breathe,” the authorities warned.

Confirming the situation, a spokesman for Hamburg Fire Brigade said: “The centre of

Hamburg is completely dark.” The burning facilities were located along the banks of the River Elbe, east of the city centre.

Firefighters did not provide information on the contents of the warehouses. However, other sources suggested the warehouses were discharging hydrogen sulphide into the atmo ­ sphere. Firefighting teams were said to be unable to combat the flames without the use of breathing apparatus. Six fire appliances from the professional fire brigade, several volunteer fire brigades, the Technical Relief Agency and the police took part in fighting the fire. According to initial reports, no one was injured.