Rescuers search for 5 missing workers at German blast site

Rescue teams in western Germany are searching for five missing workers at an industrial park for chemical companies where an explosion killed at least two people and injured 31 others

BERLIN -- Rescue teams in western Germany searched for five missing workers Wednesday at an industrial park for chemical companies a day after an explosion killed at least two people and injured 31 others. The Tuesday explosion at the waste management facility of the Chempark site sent a large black cloud of smoke into the air and ignited a fire that took firefighters almost four hours to extinguish. The industrial park is located in the city of Leverkusen, near Cologne. The CEO of Currenta, which operates the Chempark industrial park, said there was little hope for the five missing workers — four Currenta employees and one outside contractor. “We have to assume that the missing people can no longer be found alive,” Frank Hyldmar told reporters in Leverkusen. He added that of the 31 injured, one person was still in a life-threatening condition.