At least hundreds of partygoers were forced to flee a dance club in southwestern Germany after a fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday morning (local time).
More than 750 people were present at the club and none were injured in the incident in Kehl, a town near the French border, AP said.
he said, referring to emergency services. However, three were treated for shock at the scene.
In local media, the club was identified as K Club Kehl, a popular venue for hip-hop music.
Police said the fire started around 3:45 a.m. (local time). According to a police statement, the fire “spread throughout the building”.
The AP reported that all of the roughly 750 people inside the club managed to escape in time. Images published in German media showed a huge fire on the roof of the nightclub, which is located in an industrial area of the city.
A rescue operation is underway
The cause of the fire was determined and investigated. According to the German news agency dpa, at least 80 employees of the fire department, police and medical emergency services intervened in the incident.
On Sunday afternoon, firefighters were present at the scene, putting out the remains of the fire in the interior of the club. Authorities noted that the damage was so extensive that most of the building had to be torn down.
Kehl’s mayor reacts to the incident
Kehl Mayor Wolfram Britz said in a statement that he was happy and relieved to know no one was injured and also thanked the nightclub owner for ensuring a proper evacuation.
Swiss ski resort fire
The fire comes months after a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana caught fire in the early hours of New Year’s Day, killing 41 people. Investigators traced the fire to sparklers attached to champagne bottles. More than 100 people were injured in the fire, which broke out in the basement of the bar and killed dozens, many of them teenagers, from Switzerland, Portugal, Italy and France. The investigation, which initially focused on the bar operator, has since expanded to include current and former public safety chiefs at the municipality.
Fire in Kehl
Kehl is located just across the Rhine River from the French city of Strasbourg, and the nightclub often attracts visitors from across the border.
Unlike the earlier Crans-Montana fire, the Kehl evacuation appears to have been carried out effectively.
“At one point everything was normal and then we heard it was on fire,” a partygoer told French newspaper DNA, adding that announcements were made in German, French and English.
According to the report, several members of the club said that the staff handled the situation efficiently and that people were evacuated quickly.
Authorities have since launched an investigation into the incident, although the exact cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
