An individual was killed in an explosion in an apartment building in Blankenburg in the Harz Mountains. The detonation may have been triggered by gas cylinders stored in an apartment.
In the affected apartment devices for gas heating were found in addition to liquefied gas containers, said Frank Götze of the police in the Harzkreis at a press conference. The house was not connected to the gas network, but is heated by district heating. The investigators explained that it could be possible that tenants wanted to save costs with their own gas appliances because the district heating was too expensive for them.
Evidence of explosives police have not found in the house so far, Götze said. The police corrected their own information, according to which in the apartment was also World War II ammunition. This has not been confirmed. The dead man was probably the 78-year-old tenant of the apartment from which the explosion went out. His wife suffered severe injuries and there were 14 other people with moderate and minor injuries.
According to the mayor of Blankenburg, Heiko Breithaupt, the local forces offered "a picture of devastation". There are 50 residents in the house. In addition to the injured, the rescue services also brought the other residents to safety.
Initially, the police had run out of at least 25 injured. According to Mayor Breithaupt, one resident was seriously injured, nine others were slightly injured. In addition, there were four police officers who suffered flue gas poisoning during the operation.
The situation at the accident location remained confusing. The killed could not be recovered even hours after the explosion. It could move only meter by meter in the heavily damaged building, it was said.
The technical relief organization is to check the statics of the house to clarify which apartments can be used. All the residents had to be brought to safety first. All but one family found shelter with relatives - the family was supposed to be in an emergency shelter.
Police, fire brigade and technical aid organization were with numerous forces in the employment. An adjoining kindergarten was evacuated as a precaution, but the children remained unhurt and could be picked up by their parents.
Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) was dismayed by the accident. "My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones, I express my sympathy to them," he explained. At the same time, Haseloff thanked all rescue workers for their professional commitment.