[ad_1]
The person entered the alley with his cell phone shortly before the blast, according to a fire department spokesman. Six people were injured in the explosion in Langenzersdorf.
3:11 pm, January 29, 2021
In one Mehrparteienhaus in Langenzersdorf (Korneuburg District) an explosion occurred on Friday morning from an initially unknown cause. According to Sonja Kellner, spokesperson for the Lower Austrian Red Cross, four people with minor injuries and one serious injury were counted. According to data from Franz Resperger of the regional command the building was in full fire. About 150 helpers battled the flames. The extinction work was largely completed by noon.
House in danger of collapse
As Franz Resperger of the state fire department told the APA in the afternoon, one person was missing. It is to be feared that this is below the debris cone, the spokesman said. A structural engineer examined the house. “The property is in danger of collapsing,” the fire department spokesman stressed. Therefore, a special vehicle was requested, with the help of which the emergency services wanted to slowly clear the cone of debris. Fears that the missing person may be in the rubble stem from a cell phone. Resperger: “Shortly before the explosion, the person entered the alley with his cell phone.”
The explosion had occurred shortly before 8:00 am The upper floor of the property was partially ripped away. In addition to the crews of “Christophorus 3” and “Christophorus 9”, there were also emergency medical service, rescue dogs and the fire brigade rescue train in Langenzersdorf. Professional firefighters and the Vienna rescue service also sent helpers. A police helicopter and more than 100 executive officers were also at the scene.
Six injured so far
The six wounded, at least among them a man seriously injured – According to Kellner, they were transferred to three different hospitals. Korneuburg, Stockerau and SMZ-Ost in Vienna were considered the receiving clinics. “The injury patterns were smoke inhalation and collapse situations,” he directed State Rescue Commander Werner Kraut outside. Eight other people were cared for by the Red Cross crisis intervention team in the Langenzersdorfer community room.
According to Resperger, Apartments on the third and fourth floors of the property “completely devastated”. The fire department offered several revolving ladders. At the moment, it was only possible to use it outdoors. “An internal attack is too dangerous,” Resperger said in the face of the threat of collapse. A person was saved by a ladder. It is currently not possible to tell if there are more people in the apartment building, Resperger said early in the morning.
Possible missing persons should be clarified. Contact will be established with the more than 60 people who are registered in the apartment building, he stressed. Police spokesman Johann Baumschlager. “It will take a little time.” The investigation into the causes was also underway around noon. Fire investigators from the State Criminal Police Office were on the scene.
The area around the property was cordoned off on a large scale. Sonja Kellner, spokesperson for the Lower Austrian Red Cross, reported billowing smoke. Several people would be outside the cordoned off area. “People are very calm,” the spokeswoman emphasized.
Mayor Andreas Arbesser (ÖVP) stated in an interview with the APA that the event was “terrible”. The upper floor of the apartment building looks like “after a bomb hit.” People housed in the community room would be “provided with the most necessary.” Once the flames have been removed, the primary focus will be on statically securing the property, Arbesser looked ahead.
Lukas Schauer, spokesman for the Vienna Professional Fire Department, reported on the APA request of around 50 aides with just under a dozen vehicles that were on duty in Langenzersdorf. They also included members of the sound detection group and the rescue dog squad of the state firefighters association. The stand remains upright “as long as we are needed,” Schauer said.
A witness posted on Facebook: “I am standing with the dogs in front of the house (Bisamberg in the middle of the mountain) suddenly there is a collision as if one truck crashed into another! I just got the photo – gas explosion in Langenzersdorf. I hope no one is seriously injured
Terribly so worried. “
