One person has been killed and 18 injured in an explosion at Austria’s main gas pipeline hub, according to police. Fire engines, ambulances and a rescue helicopter have reportedly been deployed to the area, and all work has been halted at the site.
Fatal blast at major Austrian gas facility causes disruption in neighboring countries Tuesday 12 Dec, 2017 (Photos - Video)
https://www.rt.com/news/412822-gas-explosion-austria-dead/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-FGoCB5JQE (0:11 min.)
"Eighteen people are injured and one is dead," police chief Markus Haindl said, as quoted by Sputnik. He added that "technical problems" caused the explosion, and that there was "no indication of terrorism."
Austrian emergency services put the number of injured at 21, adding that “employees of contractors from six other countries” were among those slightly injured, Reuters reported.
Several media outlets previously put the number of people injured at around 60.
Gas Connect Austria, which works in partnership with OMV Group, has stated that one person is missing and 12 others injured, while Austrian police have denied that anyone was killed in the blast.
“An explosion occurred at 8:45am (local time), followed by a fire. Things are under control but according to preliminary reports there are several people injured,” police spokesman Edmund Tragschitz told AFP.
The blast occurred near Baumgarten, Gaenserndorf district.
The underground pipeline belongs to the Vienna-based OMV group, which has confirmed that there was a gas explosion at the site.
“The [explosion] has created a fire,” Fire Brigade spokesman Franz Resperger said, as quoted by ORF. “There are miles of thick, black clouds of smoke.”
“Due to the enormous heat... cars are melted in the parking lot,” Resperger said.
Police have cordoned off the site and are asking people to avoid the area.
A total of 14 fire engines with more than 150 personnel are at the site, along with 10 ambulances, two emergency physicians, and a rescue helicopter, according to ORF.
“The fire brigade, the rescue service and the police have been set up in coordinated coordination with the district headquarters, the Red Cross and the state police headquarters, with the focus now on rescue... the police helicopter is in action to provide a comprehensive picture of the situation," Lower Austrian Provincial Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner said, as quoted by Heute.
All work has been halted at the site, which has been completely shut down, according to Gas Connect Austria.
Italian industry minister Carlo Calenda has announced that his country will declare a state of emergency for its energy supplies following the blast, stating that Italy has a "serious gas supply problem." ." He took it as an opportunity to stress Italy's need for the controversial Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which has been protested by environmentalists. "If we had had the TAP, we would not have to declare a state of emergency,” Calenda told reporters, as quoted by Reuters.
A state of emergency would give Rome the right to use a series of extraordinary measures to maintain the energy supply, such as allowing dated coal and oil power plants to run at full capacity. (Article continues.)
An explosion and fire that ripped through Austria’s main gas pipeline hub on Tuesday killed one person and injured at least 18 others, prompting Italy to declare a state of emergency as flows from the strategic site were cut off.
Deadly explosion at Austria’s main gas plant forces Italy to declare state of emergency (Photos - Video)
https://globalnews.ca/news/3911533/explosion-austria-gas-plant-italy-state-of-emergency/
The Baumgarten site in eastern Austria, near Slovakia, is a major regional transfer node, taking natural gas from as far away as Russia and pumping it towards neighbours including Germany and Italy, its biggest recipient.
News of the blast sent gas prices in Europe soaring on fears it would restrict supply as winter sets in.
Gas Connect Austria, which operates site, said the hub had been shut down but the blaze had been brought under control. The cause appeared to be a technical fault, it said.
“An explosion occurred this morning before 9:00 a.m. on the grounds of the Baumgarten Natural Gas Station,” the company said. “The explosion caused a serious fire that has been contained to several small fires.”
Footage on social and other media showed a column of fire in the distance rising from a flat landscape. A wide area around the site was cordoned off.
The fire brigade, police and Gas Connect Austria said one person had been killed. A fire brigade spokesman said 18 people were injured, one of them seriously, while a police spokesman put the number of injured at 21.
Gas Connect Austria said its deliveries to Austria’s southern and southeastern borders were affected by the blast until further notice.
Those pipelines supply Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia but also Baumgarten’s biggest recipient, Italy.
An explosion yesterday forced operator Gas Connect Austria to shut down a major European gas hub at Baumgarten, taking one life and injuring 21 others. Italy depends on gas deliveries via Baumgarten and declared a state of emergency – although gas supplies are expected to be guaranteed by storage for the time being. Nonetheless, Italian gas price almost doubled to Eur45/MWh following the blast.
Gas Explosion in Austria, Crack in North Sea Pipeline – UK Gas and Oil Price Jumps December 14, 2017
http://truepublica.org.uk/united-kingdom/gas-explosion-austria-crack-north-sea-pipeline-uk-gas-oil-price-jumps/
The fatal accident in Austria follows Monday’s shutdown of the key North Sea Forties Pipeline System (FPS) after the discovery of a widening crack.
UK gas prices rose immediately and the price for Brent crude oil jumped over $65/barrel – its highest level in more than two years. The FPS was recently bought by Ineos, and feeds the company’s Grangemouth, Scotland petrochemical plant. Ineos transports fracked gas liquids from the United States to produce plastic.
Both incidents feed new fears about the energy security supply of Europe and rising gas prices in the middle of a winter that has just begun.
In response, Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Europe Executive Director Wenonah Hauter issued the following statement:
“The explosion at Europe’s gas hub in Austria and the shutdown of the Forties Pipeline System in the North Sea shows Europe’s true vulnerability – it’s strong and systemic fossil fuel addition. The only way to gain its independence and to guarantee access to abundant clean energy for Europe’s citizens is to swiftly move off of fossil fuels and finally put major investment and public money into 100% renewables and energy efficiency measures.
“But instead of identifying centralized, big fossil fuel infrastructure as a security problem, EU policy makers are going all out for gas, with around 90 new gas infrastructure projects planned. Some of this gas is being exported from fracked communities in the United States. This is taking both continents in the wrong direction at a time when climate chaos lingers at our doorsteps.”
Food & Water Watch champions healthy food and clean water for all. We stand up to corporations that put profits before people, and advocate for a democracy that improves people’s lives and protects our environment. Food & Water Europe is the European program of Food & Water Watch.