By P.S.
Published
25 minutes ago,
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Twitter Screenshot – Nexta TV
A German factory of the industrialist Diehl, which notably manufactures the IRIS-T SLM air defense system that Berlin supplies to the Ukrainian army, was on fire this Friday, May 3.
An impressive fire broke out this Friday, May 3 in a factory of the industrial company Diehl Metal, reported the German newspaper Bild . The fire in this factory is also reported by the major German daily Die Welt .
The disaster mobilized at least 170 firefighters in an industrial zone located to the west of the German capital, rue Am Stichkanal in the Berlin-Lichtefelde district, local journalists from Berliner Zeitung.
In a video posted by the editor-in-chief of the Berliner Zitung Tomasz Kurianowicz, we can clearly see the initials of the industrialist Diehl on the buildings engulfed in flames and thick black smoke.
Manufacturer of the IRIS-T system supplied to Ukraine
The wind, which blows towards the North, causes the toxic plumes to rise above the Berlin region. These could in particular contain, according to the spokesperson for the Berlin firefighters Adrian Wanzel, cited by Bild, sulfuric acid and hydrogen cyanide which were stored in the factory, the building of which burned down at least four floors and partly collapsed. The firefighters intervene from the outside, with specific protective suits, he added.
The industrialist Diehl is notably in charge of manufacturing an anti-aircraft defense system, the IRIS-T SLM, at the heart of the strategic thinking of NATO countries in Europe, and which Germany is delivering to the army. Ukrainian to defend itself against Russian attacks.
According to the specialized information site Oryx, Germany has already delivered 12 IRIS-T SLM surface-to-air missile systems to Ukraine since October 2022, and 22 missile launchers. This defense system is therefore one of those which has been supplied in the largest quantities by kyiv’s Western allies.
These missile batteries are also at the heart of the European anti-missile shield project, called European Sky Shield, led by Germany and in which 19 countries are participating, creating a basis for the joint public purchase of anti-aircraft defense systems for European partners. Last December, reports the Euractiv agency, Slovenia purchased two IRIS-T SLM systems, for an amount of at least 200 million euros, according to the Slovenian daily Delo.
