Dangerous incident

Defective OMV pipeline in Lower Austria caused gas leak

A dangerous natural gas leak at OMV in the Weinviertel region caused a major operation that lasted for hours on Wednesday evening. The dimensions only became clear later.

During maintenance work on the "Matzen 156 probe", a large leak of gas and water occurred at the plant between Auersthal and Schönkirchen-Reyersdorf at around 8 pm. On request, the company confirmed the incident in the Gänserndorf district.

Operation lasted until the next day
According to ORF NÖ, the 70 firefighters and helpers worked for more than 20 hours to secure and repair the defective pipeline. The operation proved to be extremely difficult, as the escaping gas had to be diluted with water to prevent spontaneous combustion.

Leaking gas quantity not known
At the same time, OMV employees tried to close the borehole. In the end, the hole was filled with cement to stop the gas escaping. It is still unclear how the dangerous incident occurred. The company has also not yet answered the question of the exact quantity.