‘Huge fire’ breaks out at Germany’s biggest theme park after
‘Huge fire’ breaks out at Germany’s biggest theme park after ‘two or three loud bangs’, sparking visitor evacuation
- A huge mushroom of black smoke was seen at Europa-Park in Germany
- Witnesses at the park said there had been an ‘explosion’ with loud bangs’
A huge fire has broken out at Germany’s biggest theme park Europa-Park sparking a visitor evacuation, it has been reported.
Video footage showed a huge mushroom of black smoke billowing from inside the amusement park, as shocked visitors stood watching the flames from afar.
People were seen leaving the park, often dubbed the ‘Disney land of Germany’ while others stood filming the smoulder, with witnesses claiming there had been an explosion.
Police confirmed to German newspaper Bild that the huge blaze broke out at around 4.40pm local time resulting in 25,000 people being evacuated.
‘It banged loudly two or three times. After that a huge fire could be seen,’ an eyewitness said. The man claimed that the fire had broken out on the AtlanticaSupersplash track.
A huge fire has broken out at Europa-Park in Rust, South Germany
Plumes of smoke were seen billowing out of the amusement park as hundreds evacuated
One man claimed that the fire had broken out on the AtlanticaSupersplash track
Local reports have said the the cloud of smoke had spread over the Austria-themed section of the park, with the Diamond Cave being most affected.
The fire is still being fought by a number of fire brigades and is now said to be under control. The exact cause remains unclear.
Three firefighters were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Another person who had been at the park wrote on Twitter: ‘Sad – fire in Europa Park in the Spanish area, luckily, we saw it just in time to leave the restaurant adjacent to the building.
‘Hope all the families and children are safe.’
A second person, who shared a video of the chaos, said: ‘Several explosions. Let’s pray that there are no injuries.’
Video footage from park-goers shows the huge black clouds of smoke billowing out of the park
Witnesses on social media described the chaos at the park, calling it ‘frightening’
While a third person wrote: ‘The diamond cave in Europa-Park is on fire. For now, we don’t know if anybody is hurt but the fire is already under control it seems. It was really impressive and frightening.’
Many are baffled as to what caused the fire. Another person asked: ‘What exactly is burning?’
Europa-Park is a huge theme park containing more than 100 different amusements, in the town of Rust in Baden-Württemberg.
The amusement park was first opened in 1975, with different additions being added and improved over time.
Tickets cost between £40 and £300 and is located close to the border of France and Switzerland.
It is not the first time the amusement park has seen a fire break out. A previous blaze in 2018 saw witnesses reporting flames that reached 15 metres in height.
On Twitter a spokesperson for Europa-Park said: ‘An incident has occurred at Europa-Park.
‘We work closely with the responsible authorities and emergency services. An update will follow as new information becomes available.’