Berlin - Around 1 400 people have been evacuated from their homes in Germany, authorities said on Tuesday, after a chemical accident at a factory run by United States food giant Kraft caused a cloud of poisonous gas.
The accident, in the small town of Bad Fallingbostel, near Hanover in northern Germany, happened on Monday when employees accidentally poured acid into a tank containing sodium hydroxide solution, causing a chemical reaction.
Seven hundred firefighters were called in to cool the container on Tuesday amid rising temperatures and fears of a possible explosion.
Technical experts were trying to pump out the acid.
The alert was lifted by mid-afternoon and residents could return to their homes, according to firefighters and local officials.
Nobody was injured in the incident.
“There has at no time been any danger for the population because we decided, along with the authorities, to evacuate as a precautionary measure,” company spokesperson Heike Hauerken told rolling news channel N24.
Production was halted as soon as the accident took place, she added. - Sapa-AFP