04-07-2025
Germany updates: 1,000 firefighters tackle wildfires in east – DW – 07/04/2025
Two major wildfires have been burning in the eastern German states of Saxony and Thuringia. Meanwhile, several people were injured when a bus overturned in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Follow DW for more.
Following a heat wave that brought temperatures up to 40 degrees Celcius (104 Fahrenheit) across parts of Germany, firefighters have been deployed to tackle raging fires.
A total of 1,000 emergency personnel have been deployed to Gohrischheide in Saxony and the Saalfelder Höhe in Thuringia, both in eastern Germany.
Firefighters on the scene estimated the extent of the affected area to reach 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres).
More and more Germans are now drinking beer out of cans, rather than glass or plastic bottles, according to new data from the market research company NielsenIQ.
More than 10% of beer in Germany is now sold in cans.
Drinking from cans used to be more prevalent in Germany, but almost disappeared from shelves around 20 years ago. But it has since been making a comeback.
More people now drink beer from cans, even as the amount of beer being drunk in Germany continues to fall.
In the first five months of 2025, 2.2 million hectoliters (around 58 million gallons) of beer were sold in cans in German shops.
This brought the market share of cans up to 11.1% of the beer market.
NielsenIQ's Marcus Strobl suggested one reason may be that young people have gotten used to drinking energy drinks from cans, and don't attach the same stigma that older generations might.
Another explanation may be that crates for cans of beers are small than those for bottles, making the distribution easier.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoA police spokesperson said 20 people were injured when a bus overturned on the A19 motorway in the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
One passenger was critically injured after being trapped for two hours before being freed.
The cause of the accident is still unclear.
The low-cost bus had 53 passengers and two drivers on board, and was travelling from Copenhagen to Vienna.
Police said the accident took place at around 2:40 a.m. local time (0040 GMT) near the Röbel junction heading toward Berlin. The part of the motorway where it happened remains closed.
The bus was owned by the Flixbus company which was involved in a deadly crash in Germany in January.
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The major wildfires raging in eastern Germany continued to blaze out of control on Friday.
Authorities deployed a total of 1,000 firefighters between the two sites —Gohrischheide in Saxony and Saalfelder Höhe in Thuringia.
The full extent of the fires was not yet clear, in part due to the changing winds. According to German public broadcaster , local authorities estimated on Thursday evening that the Gohrischheide fire had impacted some 200 hectares (a little under 500 acres) whereas firefighters on the ground spoke of 1,000 hectares.
Several communities, including the city of Gröditz, had been put under a disaster alert. Some 100 residents had to evacuate their houses in the area of Heidehäuser in Saxony.
People living near the wildfires were told to be ready to leave and to keep windows and doors closed.
The fire in Saxony broke out on Tuesday close to a military training ground. It wasn't clear what started the fire. The situation is particularly dangerous because the fire keeps detonating munitions that are in the ground.
Police helicopters have been used to douse the flames, but military helicopters have also been requested.
A local forestry expert in Thuringia said that the Saalfelder Höhe forest fire is the biggest in the state since 1993, according to Tagesschau.
The German Weather Service (DWD) warned that there was a risk of further forest fires over the weekend in the south and east of Germany, with the situation only easing on Monday with the arrival of rain.
from sunny Bonn!
Germany continues to suffer from the recent heat wave with two major wildfires blazing in the east.
We will bring you the latest from that and much more, along with explainers and analysis from our colleagues across DW. Stay with us for the latest from
