World IN BRIEF : GERMANY : Safety Lapses Seen in Deadly Airport Fire

Officials at the airport in Dusseldorf where 16 people died in a fire admitted there were serious lapses in safety before and during the blaze. Welders apparently started the fire when molten metal set plastic-covered electric cables ablaze, investigators said. Airport technical director Bernd Rietdorf said safety codes required that a fire-prevention expert supervise the welders, but none was there. Another airport official said that, more than a week before the blaze, safety officials had determined that the Air France waiting lounge where most of the victims died needed an additional fire-protection door, but it was never installed.