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| Austria gas plant burns after deadly explosion | Austria gas plant burns after deadly explosion |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A big explosion has rocked a key natural gas facility in eastern Austria, killing one person and injuring at least 18, police say. | A big explosion has rocked a key natural gas facility in eastern Austria, killing one person and injuring at least 18, police say. |
| A fire followed the blast at the Baumgarten site, which happened around 08:45 (07:45 GMT). The plant lies just east of Vienna, near the Slovak border. | A fire followed the blast at the Baumgarten site, which happened around 08:45 (07:45 GMT). The plant lies just east of Vienna, near the Slovak border. |
| On Twitter Austrian police said the situation was under control and a technical fault had caused the blast. | On Twitter Austrian police said the situation was under control and a technical fault had caused the blast. |
| One unconfirmed report spoke of 60 hurt. Emergency teams are at the scene. | One unconfirmed report spoke of 60 hurt. Emergency teams are at the scene. |
| Baumgarten is a major hub for imported Russian gas, which is sent on to a number of European countries. The facility receives about 40bn cubic metres of gas per year. | |
| "The installation has been brought under control and operations have been suspended there," said Armin Teichert, spokesman for the operator, Austria's Gas Connect service. | |
| Police have cordoned off the area. Some victims suffering burns have been airlifted out by helicopter, Austrian ORF news reports. | Police have cordoned off the area. Some victims suffering burns have been airlifted out by helicopter, Austrian ORF news reports. |
| "I heard a huge explosion and thought at first it was a plane crash," photographer Thomas Hulik, who lives in a nearby village in Slovakia, told the AFP news agency. | |
| "Then I saw an immense ball of flame." | |
| Gas Connect said the incident should have no effect on gas deliveries to Austria but those to Italy and Croatia might be reduced. | |
| Meanwhile, Russia's Gazprom Export said it was working to redirect gas flows. | |
| It said it was "doing everything possible to secure uninterrupted gas supplies" to customers in the region. |