A fiery blast ripped through a major natural gas hub in eastern Austria on Tuesday morning local time, killing at least one person, injuring many others and sending energy prices into a frenzy. The blaze at the facility in Baumgarten, which receives imported Russian gas and sends it on to other sites scattered throughout Europe, danced bright on the horizon for miles around before firefighters were able to bring it under control hours later.
Local police announced on Twitter that the blast occurred “due to a technical cause,” adding that an investigation has been opened. The site’s operator, Gas Connect Austria, also preliminarily attributed the explosion to a technical cause and took the facility offline.
Initially, the company said 18 people were injured — though local police later raisedthat number to 21, noting that one person suffered serious injury.
The shock waves of the blast have already been felt far beyond the boundaries of the station, which serves as a crucial hinge point between gas suppliers in Russia and Norway and pipelines sending that gas on to Italy, the U.K. and other European countries. Gas Connect Austria says that after the explosion, “transit through Austria to the south and southeast is impaired until further notice.”
NPR – Colin Dwyer – 12.12.17
Posted by: Nelson Bailey
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