Alwaght- At least one person has been killed and 18 injured in a massive explosion at one of Europe's major gas pipelines triggering a state of emergency in Italy and a major fuel crisis across the continent.
The explosion and fire ripped through Austria's main gas pipeline hub killing one person and injured 18 others, emergency services said.
Italy has declared a state of emergency due to a lack of gas supplies as a direct result of the blast at a central hub for natural gas distribution in Europe.
Gas prices in Europe soared on concerns about supply.
According to the Austrian news agency APA, the blast rocked the area around Baumgarten an der March at 8.45am. The plant is about 25 miles north east of Vienna on the Slovakian border.
Initial reports on casualties suggested as many as 60 people were injured in the blast and following inferno but police and fire service officials later revised the figure to 18. Images from the scene show a high ball of flames erupting above the gasworks.
The cause of the blast remains unclear but police said early reports suggest a technical defect.
Surrounding areas have been closed off and around 240 emergency services personnel are at the scene.
The plant receives natural gas imports from Russia and Norway and is Austria’s largest with a capacity of 40 billion cubic metres per year.
It is a major hub for the distribution of natural gas and supplies northern Italy and southern Germany as well as Austria.
Italian Industry Minister Carlo Calenda said said the incident in Austria revealed Italy had “a serious supply problem” and underlined the need to develop the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The project will eventually give Italy a new supply route, but has been delayed by protests.
“If we had had the TAP, we would not have to declare a state of emergency,” Calenda told reporters.
