Germany: 25 treated after fire at refugee shelter
BERLIN – Two people were detained Tuesday after a large fire at refugee accommodation in the western German city of Duesseldorf, police said.
City police spokeswoman Anja Kynast said the two men, both residents at the shelter, were taken in for questioning but not formally arrested.
Duesseldorf’s fire department said about 70 firefighters rushed to the grounds of the city’s convention centre after being alerted to the fire shortly after midday.
It said 24 of the 282 refugees living at the site were treated for smoke inhalation and one firefighter was treated for exhaustion.
Kynast said authorities had been called to a previous fire at the shelter last month, but that the cause hadn’t been determined.
Tuesday’s fire created a large column of smoke over Duesseldorf that could be seen for dozens of kilometres (miles).
Traffic at the city’s nearby airport wasn’t affected.
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