• Austria's main gas pipeline hub at Baumgarten, Eastern Vienna, where an explosion rocked the site. Tomas Hulik / AFP
    Austria's main gas pipeline hub at Baumgarten, Eastern Vienna, where an explosion rocked the site. Tomas Hulik / AFP
  • Austria's main gas pipeline hub at Baumgarten, Eastern Vienna, where an explosion rocked the site. AFP
    Austria's main gas pipeline hub at Baumgarten, Eastern Vienna, where an explosion rocked the site. AFP
  • Gas pipes are pictured at Austria's largest natural gas import and distribution station in Baumgarten, Austria in this file picture from 2014. Heinz-Peter Bader/ Reuters
    Gas pipes are pictured at Austria's largest natural gas import and distribution station in Baumgarten, Austria in this file picture from 2014. Heinz-Peter Bader/ Reuters
  • Emergency crews are seen attending to a fire after reports of a gas explosion in Baumgarten, Austria. RKNO / Motz via Reuters
    Emergency crews are seen attending to a fire after reports of a gas explosion in Baumgarten, Austria. RKNO / Motz via Reuters
  • Emergency crews are seen after reports of a gas explosion in Baumgarten, Austria on December 12, 2017 in this picture obtained from social media. RKNO / Motz via Reuters
    Emergency crews are seen after reports of a gas explosion in Baumgarten, Austria on December 12, 2017 in this picture obtained from social media. RKNO / Motz via Reuters
  • Emergency crews are seen attending to a fire after reports of a gas explosion in Baumgarten, Austria. RKNO / Motz via Reuters
    Emergency crews are seen attending to a fire after reports of a gas explosion in Baumgarten, Austria. RKNO / Motz via Reuters
  • Firefighters stand outside a gas plant after an explosion occurred near Baumgarten. Ronald Zak / AP Photo
    Firefighters stand outside a gas plant after an explosion occurred near Baumgarten. Ronald Zak / AP Photo
  • Emergency crews are seen attending to a fire after reports of a gas explosion in Baumgarten, Austria. RKNO / Motz via Reuters
    Emergency crews are seen attending to a fire after reports of a gas explosion in Baumgarten, Austria. RKNO / Motz via Reuters

Explosion at major Austrian gas hub leaves one dead


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An explosion in Austria at one of Europe's biggest gas pipeline hubs has killed one person and injured 18, emergency services said.

The blast took place on Tuesday at Baumgarten east of Vienna, Austria's largest reception point and the main distribution hub for gas imports from Russia, Norway and elsewhere.

"An explosion occurred at 8.45am, followed by a fire," police spokesman Edmund Tragschitz told AFP, adding that the cause was not immediately clear.

"Things are under control," he said. He later put the number of people hurt, including one seriously as well as those with minor injuries, at around 60.

But Red Cross spokeswoman Sonja Kellner told the Austria Press Agency that one person had been killed and 18 injured.

Police said on social media that people should avoid the area around Baumgarten, which is near Austria's eastern border with Slovakia.

Several fire brigades from the surrounding area were called in to help.

The Baumgarten hub receives about 40 billion cubic metres of gas annually and redistributes it elsewhere in Europe including to Germany and northern Italy.

This picture taken on December 12, 2017 shows a burnt car parked near Austria's main gas pipeline hub at Baumgarten, Eastern Vienna, where an explosion rocked the site. AFP
This picture taken on December 12, 2017 shows a burnt car parked near Austria's main gas pipeline hub at Baumgarten, Eastern Vienna, where an explosion rocked the site. AFP