Fire at German research center delays major particle accelerator project

A massive fire at a research center in western Germany has forced authorities to indefinitely delay the test phase of a billion euro particle accelerator, officials said on Thursday.

The blaze broke out early morning at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, triggering a major response from firefighters. A towering plume of smoke could be seen from several kilometers away.

Christian Wagner, operations manager for the Darmstadt fire department, told local media that crews responded quickly after receiving the alert around 6.30 am local time (0530GMT). About 130 firefighters and 30 additional rescue personnel were deployed to battle the flames.

"Fortunately, we have no casualties so far," Wagner said.

The fire affected an industrial hall where offices and technical equipment were ablaze, regional broadcaster HR reported.

It remained unclear to what extent the Unilac linear accelerator, a particle accelerator for heavy ions, was affected. The linear accelerator is an important component of the new billion euro FAIR particle accelerator currently being built on the GSI site.

Timon Gremmels, science minister for the state of Hesse, called the fire " a black day," and said the test phase planned for December will not be able to take place and has been postponed indefinitely. The project had aimed to new insights into the structure of matter and evolution of the universe, from the Big Bang to the present.