VIDEO Huge fire at an arms factory in Berlin. The Diehl plant produces the IRIS-T air defense system, also supplied to Ukraine / Dangerous toxic cloud alert

A German factory belonging to the Diehl Metal company, which produces the IRIS-T SLM anti-aircraft defense system that Berlin supplies to the Ukrainian army, was engulfed in an impressive fire on Friday, reports the German press quoted by Le Figaro and News.ro.

The fire mobilized more than 160 firefighters in an industrial area in the southwest of the German capital, on Am Stichkanal street in the Berlin-Lichterfelde district, according to local journalists from the Berliner Zeitung.

Residents of the German capital have been warned that a cloud of potentially dangerous toxic smoke is spreading, and the population of a large area near Berlin is being urged to stay indoors and close windows.

The affected districts are Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Spandau and the western part of Reinickendorf.

Berlin firefighters tweeted a map showing the area where smoke is likely to spread, along with safety instructions for residents.

The wind, blowing from the north, causes the toxic smoke to rise above the Berlin region. According to Adrian Wanzel, spokesman for the Berlin fire department, quoted by Bild, the cloud could contain sulfuric acid and hydrogen cyanide, substances that were stored in the factory, whose building has at least four floors and partially collapsed.

Firefighters work from the outside, wearing special protective suits, he added.

Diehl manufactures the IRIS-T SLM air defense system, which is at the heart of the strategic thinking of NATO countries in Europe and which Germany supplies to the Ukrainian army to defend against Russian attacks.

According to the specialist news website Oryx, Germany has already delivered 12 IRIS-T SLM surface-to-air missile systems and 22 missile launchers to Ukraine starting in October 2022. This defense system is therefore one of the supplied in the largest quantities by Kiev’s Western allies.

These missile batteries are also at the heart of the European anti-missile shield project, known as the European Sky Shield, led by Germany and involving 19 countries, creating a basis for joint procurement of air defense systems for partners Europeans.

Last December, Euractiv agency reports, Slovenia bought two IRIS-T SLM systems, worth at least 200 million euros, according to the Slovenian daily Delo.