A fire broke out in the entrance area near the country pavilions and was brought under control after a short time. The Austrian participants are safe.
The fire on the grounds of the COP30 climate conference in Belém on Thursday was brought under control after a short time. Tourism Minister Celso Sabino gave the all-clear on television. At least parts of the area had previously been evacuated. The conference participants gathered quietly in a square in front of the conference grounds, as reporters reported on Thursday. They had previously seen large flames rising in the entrance area near the country pavilions.
“It is already under control, the Pará state fire department is on site,” Sabino said on television. Nobody was injured. Images and videos showed flames and smoke in the building, a conference center on the site of a former airport. Environment Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) was not at risk because he had already left Belém for scheduling reasons.
Delegates, COP30 observers and journalists grabbed their bags and other belongings and ran for the exits. The police and security forces formed a barrier line so that no one could approach the danger area. Sirens could be heard in the background.
Security forces said it was a small fire. They also confirmed that it had been deleted. The organizers informed all delegates by email to leave the premises. There was a fire in zone B of the site. Stinking smoke drifted towards the bus stops. Hundreds of people who had to leave the site waited outside the doors in the rain. Information about the cause of the fire was initially not available.
The Austrian delegation and Green MEP Lena Schilling were safe. Lukas Hammer, member of the National Council for the Green Party, was not at the site at the time of the fire. An APA correspondent was talking to Schilling for a briefing when the fire broke out. She reported that there was no panic among the participants on the site. It was expected in Belém that the events would further delay the conclusion of the conference. The COP30 is officially scheduled to end on Friday, but it is expected that, as in many years before, the negotiations will have to be extended into the weekend.
(APA/Reuters/AFP/dpa)
