A year and a half after the fatal accident at the AustroCel company in Hallein, the public prosecutor’s office reports: on June 2, 2021, a high-pressure gas pipeline exploded there. 147 degrees Celsius hot sulfur dioxide escaped. A 54-year-old employee who had worked for the company for nearly two decades died of burns and chemical burns.
The OM accuses the former director and three technicians of grossly negligent murders and negligent environmental damage. The sirens sounded on that day in June: environmental alarm and large-scale action. At the time, residents of the company were warned to stay at home and close the windows. A worker was killed in the terrible accident.
One dead and three injured
In addition to the fatalities, three were also injured. Three people complained of health problems after inhaling the toxic sulfur dioxide. One of the injured even lost consciousness for a moment. Now the company would ignore the safety rules for 15 years, so since 2004.
“The operators did not comply with the regulations. Pipes were not checked, although hazardous substances were used here,” emphasizes Elena Haslinger from the Salzburg public prosecutor’s office. According to Haslinger, the behavior of those responsible at the time endangered their own employees, residents and the environment.
Almost all relevant regulations ignored?
The former director of the company, a German (59), will have to answer to three other (former) employees before the subdistrict court. The technicians would also have been grossly negligent. The charge reads: “All suspects practically ignored all relevant regulations according to the DGÜW-V (Pressure Equipment Monitoring Ordinance, editor’s note), which has been in force since 2004.” pressurized gas lines had been too thin.
Company also charged
In addition to the accusations, the public prosecutor’s office also demands an association fine from the company AustroCel under the Association Responsibility Act. Because, according to the indictment, the director acted unlawfully and culpably in favor of the company. The four suspects are being defended by lawyers Norbert Wess, Kurt Jelinek and Lukas Kollmann, among others. A trial date has not been announced.
Source: Krone
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