Large Hamburg fire sparks public safety alert and hits train services

Police officers at the Hamburg-Rothenburgsort train station in Hamburg, Germany (Jonas Walzberg/dpa/dpa via AP)

Police have warned people in Hamburg, Germany, to close their windows after a large fire that engulfed several warehouses sent black, chemical-laden smoke drifting over the city.

German news agency dpa said the fire broke out at around 4.30am in the Rothenburgsort district, located in the eastern part of Germany’s second-largest city.