German firefighters still battling embers after huge Stuttgart fire

Fire services in the south-western German city of Stuttgart were continuing on Sunday to douse the embers of a weekend fire at the city's wholesale market that burned for more than 16 hours.

Firefighters would be deployed at least until the afternoon, spokesman Daniel Anand said. The situation would then be reassessed, he said.

The cause of the fire, which broke out on Friday evening, remains unknown. Warehouses burned throughout the night. Some of them are in danger of collapse, and sections were being demolished using excavators on Sunday.

A police spokesman said forensic investigators would assess the situation once the fire was out.

Initial damage estimates have been put in the tens of millions of euros. No one was injured in the blaze.

More than 200 firefighters and emergency staff were deployed to combat the blaze, which broke out in a covered hall containing photovoltaic equipment and traders' areas. Three adjacent halls were damaged as well on the site, which lies on the Neckar River.

The wholesale market provides space to more than 100 import and wholesale companies selling fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers to hotels, restaurants and other commercial customers.

Much of it was open for business again on Saturday morning. "Even if the material damage is considerable, we are relieved that no one was injured," chief executive Thomas Lehmann said.

A fire services spokesman said that trucks parked in the area had been driven away. A number of forklift trucks and delivery vans had nevertheless been damaged, he said.

The fire services issued a call to local residents to keep windows and doors closed and air-conditioners turned off on account of smoke.

They used water pumped directly from the Neckar to douse the blaze.