Gas plant explosion in Austria kills one, injures 18
An explosion on the morning of December 12 at a gas compression and transfer plant at Baumgarten an der March, east of Vienna, killed one person, seriously injured another and left a further 17 with lesser injuries, the Austrian Red Cross told local media. The Gas Connect Austria-owned facility has a workforce of around 50, according to Der Spiegel.
There was no immediate word on what caused the blast. TV footage from the site showed a significant blaze hours later with flames many metres high. Several fire departments, helicopters and ambulances are attending the incident.
The Baumgarten an der March natural gas transfer station is located in Lower Austria on the border with Slovakia and has an annual capacity of 40 billion cubic metres. It is one of Central Europe's most important gas hubs, Der Spiegel said, supplying a wide area from Northern Italy to Southern Germany.