http://www.examiner.ie/pport/web/ireland/Full_Story/did-sgnjb4Uv3Kuyosg7IQHSmeYhNE.asp
Belgium gas pipe explosion kills 15
By Paul Geitner, Brussels
A MASSIVE natural gas pipeline blast that could be felt six miles away killed at least 15 people and hurled bodies into a field near Brussels yesterday.
Firefighters and police responding to a report of a leak were among the dead and about 200 other people were injured, officials said.
The explosion in the industrial park in Ghislenghien, 20 miles south-east of the Belgian capital, happened after construction workers pierced an underground gas distribution line.
The blast sent enormous orange flames billowing into the sky and shook the ground for miles around. The flames charred cars and wheat fields 500 yards away.
Defence Minister Andre Flahaut, on a visit to the scene of the blast, said 15 people were known to have died. Health Ministry spokesman Michele Vanderplaetsen said about 40 of the injured were critically hurt and were taken to hospitals as far away as Paris.
Witnesses said that the blast shook the ground like an earthquake,
"I had the impression that a plane was going to crash on the house," said Carine Vanus in Ath, six miles away. "When we got out on the street we saw a billow of white smoke and the sound was deafening."
Elise Hoffmann, who lives two miles away in Silly, said her whole house trembled and she ran outside to see flames shooting more than 300 feet into the air.
Residents were advised to stay indoors with their windows and doors shut to keep out the heavy smoke that hung over the area, but the Health Ministry said it was not toxic and no evacuation was ordered.
The E429 motorway, which links the Belgian capital Brussels with Lille in France, was closed following the explosion.
Army units were called in to help co-ordinate the disaster response, involving dozens of ambulances and six military helicopters to ferry victims to hospitals, including a Belgian military burns unit.
France sent 100 medical specialists to help treat victims of the blast and evacuate the injured.
Gas distributor Fluxys said that a leak was reported on the pipeline, which runs from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge to France, about 30 minutes before the explosion.
Firefighters and police who were investigating the leak were among the dead, according to the Interior Ministry. The company said disruptions to gas supply were minor.
Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt cut short his Tuscan holiday and was flown to the scene. He was to be joined by King Albert's son Prince Laurent.
The Vatican sent a telegram of condolences to Archbishop Karl-Josef Rauber, the papal envoy to Belgium.
"Having learned of the tragedy... the Pope has asked me to let you know that he is joined in prayer to the persons who have been struck by this drama," the telegram said.
"There are many serious burn victims," Dr Jean Francois Breckx said after the blast. "There are some 20 or so that are fighting for their lives."
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http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2004&dt=0731&pub=Utusan_Express&sec=World&pg=wo_01.htm
Belgian gas pipe blast kills 15, destroys plants
PICTURE shows the cut gas pipeline which exploded at an industrial estate in Ghislenghien, southern Belgium, July 30. - AFPpix.
GHISLENGHIEN (Belgium) July 30 - A huge blast on a leaking gas pipeline in Belgium on Friday sent giant fireballs in the air and catapulted bodies hundreds of metres in the biggest industrial disaster in the country's recent history.
At least 15 people were killed and more than 100 injured when the explosion ripped through the underground pipeline in the industrial zone of Ghislenghien, near the town of Ath, 40 km (25 miles) southwest of Brussels.
The chain of explosions, described by one witness as a ``mini-Hiroshima'', destroyed two factories, leaving a large crater between the plants. Bodies and debris were scattered over a 500-metre (yard) radius around the disaster site and scorched a wide area.
``There were bodies in parking lots, in the fields; burnt out cars in an area half a kilometre wide,'' fire department spokesman Francis Boileau said. ``It looks like a war zone.''
``There were people fleeing who I am sure we will find too late in the fields several hundred metres away,'' he said.
The regional civil protection agency gave a provisional toll of 15 dead and at least 100 wounded but said the figures could rise because 24 people were severely burned and in critical condition.
The explosion tore through a section of the underground line carrying gas from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge to northern France as repair men were working to plug a leak, a spokesman for the agency said.
Interior Minister Patrick Dewael said several of the dead were firemen who were setting up a security perimeter after the leak was reported.
One witness, Olivier Rampelberg, who lives about 3 km (2 miles) from the blast site, said he heard a sound like a thunderclap shortly after 9 am (0700 GMT).
``It sounded like continuous thunder,'' he told RTBF television. ``Then little grains of scorched earth rained down.''
Another witness told a radio reporter: ``It sounded as if a plane had crashed. All the windows shook ... it was terrible.''
Fluxys, which runs the country's network of gas pipelines, confirmed the cause of the blast.
``There was a gas leak, which led to an explosion,'' spokesman Christian Otto said.
Fluxys employees were not among the injured, he said.
Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt broke off his holiday in Italy to fly home and visit the disaster site, his office said. He was due to chair an emergency cabinet meeting later.
It was the deadliest gas explosion since 1967, when a tanker truck carrying liquid gas exploded, killing 22 people.
In the country's worst industrial catastrophe, 262 people died in an underground mine explosion at Marcinelle in 1956, including 136 Italian immigrant workers.
Police closed the adjacent E429 motorway, the main artery linking Brussels to the French city of Lille and the Channel port of Calais.
Residents were ordered to stay indoors because of the smoke, although officials stressed there was no chemical hazard.
Fluxys, jointly owned by Royal Dutch/Shell, French utility Suez and a group of municipalities, said it had halted pumping along the line and taken measures to keep supplying customers including Gaz de France. - Reuters
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http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5029125.html
15 killed, 200 hurt in massive gas blast
WIPED OUT: fire rages in the remains of the gas plant at Ghislenghien after the blast which killed at least 15 people
A massive gas blast and factory fire has killed at least 15 people and injured more than 200.
The force of the explosion could be felt more than six miles away.
Firefighters and police were among the casualties of this morning's blast in Belgium, which was caused by workmen fracturing an underground gas pipe.
Two nearby factories were then engulfed in a fireball, with flames shooting high into the air.
Many of the victims suffered horrific burns, and there are fears that the final death toll could be much higher.
The explosion rocked an industrial park in Ghislenghien, about 20 miles from Brussels.
After the fire erupted, heavy smoke hung over the area and residents were advised to stay indoors with their windows shut.
Army units were called in to help co-ordinate the disaster response, including the closure of the main motorway through the area.
A federal crisis centre was co-ordinating emergency services and hospitals.
Six Belgian military helicopters helped ferry victims to area hospitals, including the burns unit at a Belgian military hospital.
Officials in northern France also sent 10 vehicles, a medical unit and a helicopter to help.
Health Minister Rudy Demotte was rushing back by military aircraft from a Bulgarian holiday to visit the scene and hospitals.
Gas distributor Fluxys said the natural gas line that had exploded ran from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge to France.
It said a leak was reported around 8.30am local time, and 30 minutes later the blast occurred.
Regional civil protection agency spokesman Benoit Hachez said: "Emergency services were repairing a gas leak at the scene when the explosion happened."
However, authorities said there was no evidence of toxic dangers, and no evacuation was ordered.
Reports of casualties varied, and police declined to confirm figures.
"We want to be absolutely sure before we give out numbers," said Els Kleemput, spokeswoman for the Belgian federal police.
Health ministry spokesman Karim Ibourki said many victims had suffered burns.
He added: "The latest information I have is that there are 200 wounded, of which 100 are burnt.
"That number is highly provisional. From the information I have gathered, many of the 200 are severely wounded."
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http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=556642§ion=news
Several die in Belgium gas blast
Fri 30 July, 2004 10:48
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Several people have been killed and about 100 injured by an explosion on a gas pipeline in southern Belgium, regional civil protection agency spokesman Benoit Hachez says.
"There are about 100 injuries, including some deaths, though we don't know the exact number," Hachez told Reuters.
"Emergency services were repairing a gas leak at the scene when the explosion happened," he said.
Federal police said the blast occurred on Friday in the industrial zone of Ghislenghien near the town of Ath, some 25 miles southwest of Brussels.
"There must have been a problem in the gas pipe," police spokeswoman Els Cleemput told Reuters. "Part of the factory has exploded."
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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-07/31/content_1685329.htm
Germany offers support to explosion-shaken Belgium
2004-07-31 03:48:01
BERLIN, July 30 (Xinhuanet) -- German government Friday pledged help to Belgium after the country was shattered by a bloody gas explosion.
In a telegram to his Belgian counterpart Karel de Gucht, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said that "the tragic unluck has led to great dismay and mourning in Germany".
He asked Gucht to convey his deep sympathy to the Belgian people, adding that "please let me know if Germany can help in some way".
Early Friday morning, a gas pipe line explosion occurred in the Belgian area of Ghislenghien, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 100 others.
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http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a_CBYRQfw0eQ&refer=top_world_news
Belgian Gas Explosion on Fluxys Pipeline Causes Several Deaths
July 30 (Bloomberg) -- A gas pipeline operated by network manager Fluxys NV exploded in southwest Belgium, killing several people, a company spokeswoman said.
The explosion occurred at 9:30 a.m. and was caused by a leak, said Griet Heyvaert, a spokeswoman for Fluxys.
The accident didn't disrupt gas supplies to France. The transit line is a double pipe and the explosion occurred at only one of the pipes, Heyvaert said.
The explosion occurred at the Ghislenghien business park, near the town of Ath, which lies close to a major highway, Agence France-Presse reported.