Explosion injures 3 people at Lidl headquarters in Germany
A suspected letter bomb has exploded at the headquarters of the Lidl supermarket chain in Neckarsulm, Germany, with police telling local media three people were injured. It’s the second such incident in two days in the country.
The wounded have been rushed to hospital. One of the three sustained moderate injuries in the incident, according to local reports, while the other two escaped with light injuries.
Around 100 people were evacuated from the administrative building, located in a small town near Stuttgart.
“It was probably a package or a letter bomb,” police spokesman Gerald Olma told Bild.
There’s no information that Lidl was being blackmailed or sent threats ahead of the incident, according to local law enforcement.
A bomb disposal squad has reportedly been spotted entering the building. The site has been cordoned off, with numerous police and emergency vehicles on site.
On Tuesday, one person was injured after a package exploded at the facility of German beverage-maker, ADM Wild, in the town of Eppelheim, which is also located in the state of Baden-Württemberg.
A police spokesperson said that a package exploded while being opened by an employee. It’s understood that the person sustained minor injuries in the blast.
Courtesy of rt.com
‘Extremely loud’ explosion in city centre – at least three people dead in Madrid, Spain
At least three people have died and six others were injured after an “extremely loud” explosion destroyed a residential building belonging to the Catholic Church in Madrid’s city centre.
The blast happened near a nursing home and a school – and videos and images shared on social media showed rubble scattered in the street.
The city’s mayor said early information indicated the blast was caused by a gas leak, and confirmed that one of the bodies has been discovered under the rubble. Someone was working on a boiler at the time.
Two people have been transferred to hospital for further treatment – and one of them is in a serious condition with a head injury.
Rescue teams, firefighters and police are all at the scene.
Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida said there was an ongoing fire in the six-storey building devastated by the blast.
It was a complex that provided residential training for priests and also gave meals to homeless people, a neighbour said.
The mayor said a nearby school had suffered minor damage.
The school was believed to be empty at the time, according to TVE, because classes had not resumed yet following a record snowfall in the Spanish capital on 9 January.
All nursing home residents were safe and evacuated, according to police sources.
The mayor said the residents were being taken to a hotel across the street.
A witness, Leire Reparaz, said she heard a loud explosion a few minutes before 3pm local time as she headed to her home near the Puerta de Toledo landmark.
She told the AP news agency: “We didn’t know where the sound came from. We all thought it was from the school.
“We went up the stairs to the top of our building and we could see the structure of the building and lots of grey smoke.”
Another witness, Tania Tapia, said: “Suddenly there was a brutal explosion behind my back and that pushed me forward.
“I didn’t know where it came from, my ears were ringing so I turned around and I saw a lot of smoke and the sidewalk full of debris.”
The explosion happened in Toledo Street. Footage on Twitter showed smoke coming from the building, a number of wrecked cars and debris strewn in the road.
A police spokeswoman said the area was being evacuated but could not confirm the cause of the explosion.
Courtesy of Sky News
Ukraine rocked as huge gas pipeline explosion ‘leaves entire villages shaking’
A giant gas explosion has been reported in the Ukraine – with the explosion believed to have happened on a main gas pipeline in the Urengoy – Pomary region.
Local news reports have suggested the explosion occurred near the village of Kalaydyntsi – while footage and photos from the area showed a giant ball of fire lighting up the sky.
No casualties have been reported – with the giant explosion taking place on Saturday.
A local news update stated: “Emergency gas shutdowns are possible. Please, if the gas is turned off, make sure that all gas burners are closed.”
Footage shared on Twitter showed a giant ball of fire erupting skywards as locals reported a deafening explosion.
One Twitter user, sharing footage, wrote: “The explosion thundered on the gas pipeline of the Lubnygaz enterprise in the #Poltava region of #Ukraine.”
Another video uploaded to Twitter showed the flames erupting on the horizon while a roar from the fire could be clearly heard.
Locals filming the incident could be heard gasping and exclaiming in the background of the video.
While further footage from a busy motorway showed flames and dark smoke leaping from the source of the explosion near the village of Novaki.
The BBC reports Ihor Mosiychuk, who resides in the vicinity of the explosion, said that the incident occurred between the villages of Yenkivtsi and Tarandyntsi.
He is reported stating via Facebook: “The explosion was so strong that the windows in the neighboring villages were shaking.”
He added: “You can see the fire.”
Meanwhile, local emergency services have warned that some towns, cities and regions will be affected by emergency gas shut downs.
Kyiv Post reports local authoritie warning: “The list of settlements that have been disconnected or will be disconnected from the gas supply is being specified.”
They add: “JSC Lubnygaz is putting all emergency services on duty in an operational mode.”
Courtesy of dailystar.co.uk
Five dead, 15 injured in plastic factory explosion in West Bengal’s Malda, India
Five persons were killed and 15 critically injured in a blast in a plastic factory in West Bengal’s Malda district on Thursday, police said.
The incident took place in Sujapur area around 11 am, a senior police officer said.
“Four factory workers were killed and four others critically injured in the explosion that ripped the establishment apart,” he said.
A huge police contingent has been sent to the spot to bring the situation under control. Fire tenders are trying to douse the blaze and rescue survivors from beneath the debris, he said, adding an investigation is underway.
Courtesy of thestatesman.com
2 killed, 6 injured in explosion at chemical factory in Maharashtra, India
Two persons were killed and six others injured in an explosion at a chemical factory in Maharashtra’s Raigad district in the wee hours of Thursday, a police official said.
The explosion took place around 2.30 am in the factory at Dheku in Sajgaon industrial area of Khopoli town, located about 70 km from Mumbai, following which a fire broke out in the premises, he said.
Two persons including a woman died and six others were injured, the official from Khopoli police station said.
Fire brigade and police personnel rushed to the spot and launched firefighting and rescue operations, he said.
The injured were taken to a civic-run hospital in Khopoli, the official said.
Firefighting was on till early morning, he added.
Courtesy of thehindu.com
Explosion at a chemical plant linked to the nuclear project in Iran
A large explosion following a fire of chemicals occurred today (Friday) at one of the largest petrochemical facilities in Iran. This is a petrochemical plant of the Hormusi company in Bander Mashhar, a facility whose name was previously linked to the Iranian nuclear project and was even included in the list of facilities in the list of sanctions imposed on Iran.
According to reports and videos circulated on social media, black smoke was seen rising from the scene of the explosion and large forces of firefighters arrived at the scene of the incident.
The state-run state news agency, Irena, reported that the man was under control and that there were no casualties in the blast or fire. The cause of the explosion was not reported in the media, but the possibilities range from a technical malfunction, human error or even deliberate sabotage by opposition groups in the country, which carried out several attacks on infrastructure facilities in the country during the summer.
Iran experienced a wave of mysterious explosions at key sites in the country this summer, including the ballistic missile development facility in Perchin and the uranium enrichment facility, part of the Iranian nuclear program, near the city of Natanz. Alongside these facilities, port facilities, petrochemical plants and oil pipelines in the country caught fire.
Last week, the Diaspora opposition organization “Iran’s National Resistance Council” announced that Iran had recently inaugurated a new facility for the assembly and production of nuclear warheads at a facility east of the capital Tehran.
Courtesy of alkhaleejtoday.co
Russian oil tanker suffers explosion, fire in Sea of Azov
A Russian oil tanker experienced an explosion in the Sea of Azov and an operation to rescue three of its crew members was underway Saturday, officials said.
The Russian Emergencies Ministry said the explosion on the General Azi Aslanov took place as the tanker was traveling from the port of Kavkaz to the city of Rostov-on-Don. Authorities said 10 members of the tanker’s 13-person crew havebeen rescued, while the remaining three were believed to be in the water.
The tanker has tilted and efforts to stabilize the ship were underway.
Maritime officials said the tanker wasn’t loaded explosion may have been triggered by flammable vapors left behind from the vessel’s previous cargo.
Courtesy of abcnews.go.com
Six injured in Prai factory explosion, Malaysia
Six workers sustained minor injuries during an explosion in a fire which broke out at a steel factory here this afternoon.
The Prai Fire and Rescue Department was alerted to the incident about 4.28pm.
At the height of the blaze, thick black smoke could be seen even from the island.
Operation officer Azrul Khairi Abu Bakar said when they arrived at the scene, they found a fire and explosion had broke out inside the boiler house inside the three-storey steel structure.
“About 30 per cent of the boiler and steel structure went up in flames.
“Six workers, in their 40s, who helped put out the fire were slightly injured following an explosion,” he said today.
The workers were sent to hospital for treatment by the company’s officials.
Azrul Khairi said firefighters proceeded to cool the hot liquid inside the boiler.
The cause of the fire and losses are still under probe.
Courtesy of nst.com.my
Gas explosion leaves 4 dead, 1 injured in coal mine in north China’s Shanxi Province
Four people have been confirmed dead and another injured in a gas explosion in a coal mine in north China’s Shanxi Province, according to local authorities on Tuesday.
The explosion happened in the mine owned by Lu’an Group at around 2am on Tuesday. The rescue work has ended. An investigation into the cause of the blast is under way.
The mine has an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes.
Courtesy of gulfnews.com
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