Three men were injured in an explosion in a family home in Ingelheim in Rhineland-Palatinate on Tuesday. A resident was rescued from the rubble of the collapsed family home without major injuries, a police spokeswoman said. The middle-aged man was “very lucky”. “It was a total collapse,” said the spokeswoman. “Fortunately, the man was in a cavity and could therefore be rescued by the fire brigade.” The other two injured are construction workers who were working on the road in front of the house.
The resident lived alone in the front building in the Heidesheim district, his two landlords lived in the back building. Although this remained standing, it could not initially be inhabited, said the police spokeswoman. The tenant of the small family home was continuously accessible during the rescue and was taken to a hospital for clarification. At first it was said that the man was unharmed.
The exact cause of the explosion was initially unclear. The police are currently assuming that leaked gas had led to this. Residents had reported construction work on the telephone and gas lines in front of the house. The fire brigade measured gas at the site of the explosion, but it was not initially known where it came from. The police could not provide any information on the amount of property damage.
At least 80 people had to leave the surrounding houses for a few hours to be on the safe side because the fire brigade was looking for the gas leak and possibly leaked gas. A kindergarten has also been cleared in the meantime. But the children were able to return quickly.
