The fire that broke out at the Port of Hamburg on Monday has been extinguished, authorities confirmed on Tuesday afternoon.
The blaze erupted on August 25 in a warehouse on Müggenburger Straße in the Veddel district after a vehicle caught fire inside the facility.
It’s not clear whether it was an electric vehicle (EV) that might have caused the blaze, although EV-related battery fires have become notorious in recent times.
The flames spread rapidly, triggering a series of violent explosions as stored gas cylinders ignited. Debris was hurled onto the nearby A1 motorway, forcing its closure, while a towering column of smoke was visible across the city, various news sources reported.
Fire services deployed hundreds of firefighters, supported by drones and water cannons, armoured police vehicles and the fire-fighting vessel Prag.
The Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) was also called in to carry out partial demolitions of the warehouse, which had become structurally unstable, in order to access smouldering hotspots, German daily Bild reported.
By midday on Tuesday, officials declared the fire in the large hall fully extinguished, though teams remained on site throughout the afternoon to deal with isolated flare-ups and ensure the area was safe for investigators, World Cargo News reported.
Around 25 people were evacuated from the danger zone. Between three and six people had sustained injuries, at least one of them critically, according to local reports, Safety 4 Sea said.
A smoke warning for nearby districts was lifted early on Tuesday after air quality tests indicated no acute risk to residents. Traffic on the A1 motorway has since been restored, although some local roads near the site remain closed for safety checks and ongoing investigations.
The cause of the initial vehicle fire that sparked the disaster remains under investigation.
