Accident in basement

Explosion in Viennese municipal building – man injured

The deflagration of a gas-air mixture led to an accident in a municipal building in Vienna on Saturday in which a man was seriously injured. According to the emergency services, the incident occurred in a cellar of a municipal building in Jedlersdorfer Straße in the Floridsdorf district. According to the emergency services, all the evidence so far points to an accident and not a deliberately caused explosion. 

The man, who was around 50 years old, may have been handling a gas cylinder in the cellar. The victim suffered burns all over his body as a result of the detonation and the outbreak of fire. He was seriously injured and taken to a hospital in Vienna. However, there is no danger to life, according to the Vienna Professional Rescue Service.

No other person injured
As a precaution, 14 rescue teams were on the scene, but no other people were injured. No other person is believed to have been in the cellar at the time of the accident.

Several windows shattered
According to the Vienna Fire Department, several windows in the building were shattered by the pressure wave. Structural engineers are now investigating whether the structure of the building has been damaged. According to the police, the large-scale operation led to a traffic block in the immediate vicinity.