Germany's biggest theme park to reopen a day after fire

STUTTGART, Germany - Germany's largest amusement park was set to reopen to visitors on Tuesday, a day after a fire sent huge black plumes of smoke billowing over the site, reported German news agency (dpa).

All attractions and hotels at the 95-hectare Europa Park would be open as usual, apart from the fire-affected area, a park spokeswoman said.

The blaze erupted on Monday afternoon in a technical room of the indoor walk-through attraction "Magic World of Diamonds", which features animatronic dwarves working in a diamond mine and a dragon. A log flume ride and a roller coaster pass through the area.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation, a spokeswoman for the park said on Tuesday morning.

Safety mechanisms such as fire detectors and alarms had worked as planned, said police.

More than 450 firefighters, police officers and other emergency responders were deployed to the park, located near Freiburg by the French border.

Two firefighters were slightly injured.

Around 25,000 people were in Europa Park when the fire broke out. The visitors were asked to leave the park in an orderly manner. - BERNAMA-dpa