Hamburg - The Pride Parade in the German city Hamburg had to be
briefly interrupted after a fire broke out on one of the floats on
Saturday.
Flames were seen rising up between the driver's compartment and the
loading area of the "Queer Refugees Support" car, witnesses told dpa.
Clouds of smoke were seen rising up over Hamburg's Lange Reihe.
Stefan Mielchen, one of the parade's organizers, said four people had
suffered mild injuries and had been taken to hospital for suspected
smoke poisoning.
After a short interruption, during which the fire was extinguished,
the parade continued with its 25 trucks, 27 groups on foot along with
several other vehicles.
The Pride Parade, known locally as Christopher Street Day, was
expected to draw more than 200,000 people. It marks the end of
Hamburg's Pride Week.
The theme of this year's parade is "Fundamentally equal - for a
better constitution." The demonstrators' main political demand is for
discrimination against people for their sexual orientation or gender
identity to be made illegal under the constitution.