Hundreds evacuated from central Zurich after chemical spill
An aerial view of Zurich's Hardbrücke district.
Keystone/gaetan Bally
Several people were hospitalised and hundreds were evacuated on Friday evening from buildings in Zurich’s Hardbrücke district due to a chemical accident.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Six people were taken to hospital for medical examinations, it was reported on Friday.
Toxic gases escaped from a drum in front of a building after a chemical reaction, Zurich emergency services said in a press release on Friday evening. A warning to the population was then issued by the authorities, asking them to close windows and doors and turn off air conditioning.
At the scene of the accident, firefighters in chemical protective gear placed the drum in another container, before eliminating it in a special waste treatment centre, the press release said. The order to evacuate buildings and a road blockade were lifted late on Friday evening.
All six people taken to hospital had mild symptoms. Several other people went to the hospital emergency unit on their own.
A major rescue operation was deployed including police officers, firefighters and health services, the press release added. Public transport and private traffic were both affected during the emergency intervention.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Alpine Environment
My grandmother has lived in the same Swiss village for 100 years
Bodycams: essential for good law enforcement, or a privacy risk?
Did you ever come across bodycams in your place of residence and if so, how do you think the use of bodycams alter the relationship between the public and (transport) police?
What can be done to protect biodiversity in your country?
Swiss voters are set to decide on a people’s initiative calling for better protection of ecosystems in the country. Have your say on the September 22 vote.
Two dead after glider crash in southern Switzerland
This content was published on
Two people died after their glider crashed in canton Valais on Friday afternoon. The police said the victims were Swiss nationals, aged 72 and 46, who had apparently taken off from canton Aargau.
Scientists alarmed by poor state of biodiversity in Switzerland
This content was published on
Over 100 researchers have sounded the alarm over the state of biodiversity in Switzerland stating that "rapid and effective" measures are needed to strengthen its protection.
Nestle Chair says CEO change was prompted by growth concerns
This content was published on
The abrupt replacement of Nestle SA’s chief executive officer was prompted by worries over the food and beverage company’s growth outlook, Nestlé Chair Paul Bulcke told Swiss newspaper Le Temps.
Four out of five donor hearts for Swiss children come from abroad
This content was published on
Four out of five donor hearts which are transplanted into Swiss children come from outside the Alpine country, according to the director of Swisstransplant.
Climber dies on the Matterhorn in southern Switzerland
This content was published on
A climber died on Thursday after falling with a partner while descending the Matterhorn, near Zermatt, in southern Switzerland. The other mountaineer suffered minor injuries.
This content was published on
The Dalai Lama has arrived in Switzerland for a short visit. Hundreds of Tibetans welcomed him at an airport hotel in Opfikon, near Zurich, on Friday.
Sudan: Swiss among mediators calling for continuous flow of aid
This content was published on
The seven parties, including Switzerland, who led ten days of talks on Sudan in the Geneva region, are calling for the new flow of aid to “continue and accelerate”.
Coo d’état: Basel struggles to enforce pigeon-feeding ban
This content was published on
Police in the Swiss canton of Basel City have issued only eight fines since the ban on pigeon feeding came into force in July 2020.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Research identifies 134 ‘forever chemicals’ hotspots across Switzerland
This content was published on
Pollutants known as “forever chemicals” have been found at 134 sites in Switzerland, a major mapping project has revealed.
One thousand Swiss buildings could be contaminated with radium
This content was published on
The study by the University of Bern, commissioned by the Federal Office of Public Health, shows that radium was used in almost 700 buildings. In addition, there are approximately 300 other buildings where the use of radium is uncertain. The findings double previous estimates of potential radium contamination in Switzerland. A third of the identified…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.