Enlarge image
Hadamar: Gas is leaking from a tank on the premises of a liquid gas bottling plant
Photo: Thomas Frey / dpa
A man was injured when a single-family home collapsed after a gas leak on company premises in Hadamar.
The nearby house collapsed completely on Tuesday night due to gas deflagration, the police said.
According to initial findings, the 44-year-old got off relatively lightly: he was not seriously injured when the building deflagrated and collapsed, and according to a police spokesman, he did not suffer any more serious injuries.
He was able to free himself from the rubble and was responsive.
According to police, the man had returned to one of the evacuated houses illegally and against the instructions of the security forces.
A fire brigade spokesman said that all that was left of the building, which was opposite the company premises, was a pile of rubble.
Several attempts to seal the valve failed
In the morning, the fire brigade prepared another attempt to seal the leak in the gas tank.
Two previous attempts by security engineers had failed.
Among other things, the leak should be closed with a plug.
Flooding, which was supposed to ice the leak, was also unsuccessful, as the spokesman announced.
The leak was reported on Monday morning during maintenance work on the underground tank.
According to initial findings, there is propane gas in the tank.
The company in question fills, among other things, gas bottles for households.
A city spokeswoman said on Monday that a valve may have been defective.
The area within a radius of around 300 meters around the company premises in the Niederzeuzheim district was closed and evacuated.
According to the information, around 560 residents are registered there - around 20 of them had to spend the night in multi-purpose halls.
The rest found private accommodation, said a police spokesman.
Residents were asked not to enter the evacuated area.
A state road and a railway line between Limburg and Westerburg were also closed.
wit/dpa/AFP