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Roman Poseck (CDU, r), Hessian Minister of the Interior, Security and Homeland Security, thanks volunteers in the multi-purpose hall in the Oberzeuzheim district.
© Sascha Ditscher/dpa
The emergency services want to be on the safe side: After a deflagration with one injured person, they expand the safety radius to include a leaky gas tank - and warn of the ongoing risk of explosion.
Hadamar - After a deflagration and the collapse of a single-family home with one seriously injured person, there is still no end in sight to the operation surrounding a leaking propane gas tank in Hadamar.
Because the risk of explosion has not been averted, the authorities on Tuesday expanded the safety radius around the tank, which is located on company premises in the Niederzeuzheim district, from 100 to 400 meters.
Around 150 to 200 other residents are affected, as Mayor Michael Ruoff (CDU) said.
There is also a school and a daycare center in the area.
It was initially unclear when people would be able to return to their houses and apartments.
Hesse's Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) also took a look at the situation on site at midday and thanked the emergency services.
“The most important thing is that more people don’t get hurt,” said Poseck.
So far this has worked well - apart from the case of the seriously injured person, "although that was also unreasonable," said the minister.
The deflagration occurred shortly after midnight.
The house, which is around 120 meters away from the company premises, collapsed.
The man, who, according to the police, had returned to the house against the instructions of the security forces, got off relatively lightly; he was not seriously injured, was able to free himself from the rubble and was responsive.
All that was left of the building was a pile of rubble, said a fire department spokesman.
It has not yet been conclusively clarified whether the deflagration actually occurred in connection with the gas leak - but if not, "that would be a lot of bad luck all at once," said Ruoff.
The injured person was questioned; further details could not be given because they might be “relevant to the police”.
Despite this incident, there is also dissatisfaction with the closure, some of those affected expressed strong criticism and urged them to return to their homes, but one has to be on the safe side, explained Ruoff and the district administrator of the Limburg-Weilburg district, Michael Köberle (CDU ).
Gas was still leaking from the tank on the company premises in the morning - even though it should have been empty by now.
Because propane gas is heavier than air, it can collect in sinks, cellars or even sewers, so appropriate measures must be taken to remove or dilute it, for example using blowers or fans, said district fire inspector Frederik Stahl.
We have to “ensure that we don’t push the gas where we don’t want it.” Even outside the safety radius, the electricity in the town of 1,800 residents was sometimes turned off in order to minimize the risk of explosion.
After clearing measurements, a decision can then be made as to when the area will be opened again.
Until then, it's a matter of waiting - for example for André Meyer and his family.
After the father picked up his 13-year-old daughter Mia from school on Tuesday afternoon and took him to a multi-purpose hall that serves as an emergency shelter, the carpenter drove back to work.
The day before, they had to quickly pack up the most necessary things and leave the house, the two reported.
However, the family isn't worried about the house because it's on the mountain, "the gas doesn't climb that quickly," said the 46-year-old.
The previous day, several attempts to repair the leak that had occurred during maintenance work on the gas tank had failed.
Because the electricity had to be switched off, the gas could not be pumped so far, as Ralf Konermann from the Tyczka Group, a provider of liquid and industrial gas as well as hydrogen, said.
The reason for the leak is probably the “failure of a fitting”.
The company fills gas bottles for household customers on the company premises in Niederzeuzheim.
There has never been a comparable case to date, said Konermann.
The incident must now be dealt with.
All tests on the tank were carried out according to regulations, the last one only around six months ago.
Poseck spoke of an impressive performance by the emergency services.
“I would like to thank everyone who is involved here.
The various emergency services work together around the clock and hand in hand,” he said.
Most of them are volunteers who do this in their free time, so to speak, and also expose themselves to danger, said the minister.
“And that is also a really great achievement here on site by everyone involved.” dpa