World, Europe

Austria: At least 1 dead, 21 injured in gas hub blast

Massive explosion rocks major gas hub near Austrian-Slovakian border

12.12.2017 - Update : 12.12.2017
Austria: At least 1 dead, 21 injured in gas hub blast

By Ayhan Simsek 

BERLIN

A huge explosion at a major natural gas hub near Austria's border with Slovakia has killed at least one person and left many more injured.

The Austrian Red Cross told local media that 21 people were injured, one critically, in the blast at the Baumgarten gas facility around 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of the capital Vienna.

The 9 a.m. local time (0800 GMT) explosion at Austria’s largest import terminal for natural gas saw a surge in gas prices across Europe. The terminal receives gas from as far afield as Russia and Norway.

OMV group’s Gas Connect announced that a fire was largely contained and the terminal, which supplies gas across the continent, was temporarily shut.

Company spokesman Armin Teichert told Austrian news agency APA that a technical fault was suspected of causing the explosion.

Energy information service S&P Global Platts reported that Russia's Gazprom had to re-route gas supplies to Europe following the explosion.


Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.
Related topics
Bu haberi paylaşın