A crew of workers carrying out work on the A7 motorway, known as the Moldavian Highway, in the Kelimeneşti district of Vranca county, hit a main gas pipeline on the territory owned by Transgaz. The spark caused an explosion and then a fire that could be seen for miles. Four people died on the spot, five more were injured.

Fire enginesPhoto: Vlad Barza / HotNews.ro

According to Jurnal de Vrancea, experts from the ISU Vrancea reported that the incident in which four workers died and five others were injured was caused by human error.

“After the investigations, it was established that it was an explosion followed by a fire due to the cracking of the natural gas transportation main and the occurrence of mechanical sparks due to the performance of works on the construction site of the A7 highway. “, – said ISU Vranca spokesman Florin Olaru.

Prefect of Vranca district Nikushor Halici said on Thursday that checks are being carried out on the gas pipeline, which was supposed to be at a depth of 1.8 m, but according to the first estimates, the pipeline is about a meter underground. made by an official on the spot.

The company that carried out work on the A7 route knew about the existence of this pipeline, the prefect also said.

There are 14 sections where the highway route intersects with the gas pipeline, and work is currently suspended, Galici said.

Four workers who worked on the night from Wednesday to Thursday on the construction of the A7 highway, which will cross Moldova from the north to the south, died, five more were injured. Three of them did not need help in a specialized burn center.

Two men, aged 61 and 53, injured in a gas pipeline explosion in Kelimeneşti and subsequent fire, who suffered burns to 65% and 40% of their bodies, respectively, were taken by helicopter to medical centers in Bucharest, the County Ambulance Service reported on Thursday morning Vrancha (SAJ), reports Agerpres.

According to the cited source, five people who were injured in the explosion in Kelimeneşti arrived at the emergency department of Ajud Municipal Hospital by their own means.