Injured toll rises to 29 in fire at Wittenberg disability workshop

Twenty-nine people were injured, most of them by smoke, in a fire at a workshop for people with disabilities in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the city said on Monday. Of those, 21 were taken to hospital, though all have since been discharged, according to Matthias Monike, head of the Augustinuswerk, the organisation that runs the workshop and provides sheltered employment for people with disabilities in the area.

The injury count has shifted several times since the fire broke out. Police initially told reporters that 20 people had been taken to hospital with suspected smoke poisoning, then later put the figure at 16. The city's final, higher count of 29 came after officials completed a full tally of everyone affected by the smoke.

The fire broke out in the early afternoon at a building on Gottlieb-Daimler-Strasse. About 200 people had to leave the building, some with help, and the evacuation was completed within about a minute, according to reports citing the response. Around 100 firefighters, police officers and paramedics were deployed, with fire brigades called in from several surrounding towns to help bring the blaze under control.

The city said batteries stored at the workshop caught fire. Investigators believe a technical fault was to blame, though police have not given further detail on how that assessment was reached, and their damage estimate could still change once assessors finish examining the site.

The blaze damaged the building's interior fittings and facade. Police put a preliminary damage estimate at around 800,000 euros, pending a fuller assessment of the site.

Employees have continued working in a neighbouring hall, which was protected from the flames and smoke by a fire door, an MDR reporter at the scene said.