Blankenburg (dpa/sa) - Four people were injured in a deflagration during a garden party in Blankenburg (Harz district). According to previous knowledge, a 60-year-old man wanted to refill liquid fuel in a fire bowl on Saturday evening when the strong deflagration occurred, the police in Halberstadt said on Sunday. A 70-year-old and a 68-year-old suffered severe burn injuries. A 22-year-old man also suffered serious injuries when he tried to help the 70-year-old. Another 58-year-old guest at the private party was slightly injured. The 60-year-old was reportedly unharmed.
Five emergency doctors with four ambulances were on duty. Three rescue helicopters from Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Brandenburg brought the seriously injured to hospitals in Halle, Leipzig and Berlin. The Blankenburg volunteer fire brigade was deployed with ten vehicles and 33 comrades. The fire brigade of a nearby Bundeswehr location also came to extinguish the fire.
According to the police, the damage to property cannot yet be quantified. The exact cause of the explosion is being determined.
