Deflagration on the premises of Linde GmbH at the Leuna chemical site

At around 08:00 on 26 August 2024, there was a deflagration and subsequently a fire on the premises of Linde GmbH in Plant I of the Leuna chemical site. The plant fire brigade was on site immediately and brought the hazardous situation under control. No persons were injured.

Mr Dey, site manager of Linde, announced at a press conference that a gas leak had occurred in the trailer car park on the Linde site, probably due to a leak in a hydrogen trailer, resulting in a deflagration. This was clearly audible in the immediate vicinity. The cloud of smoke from the subsequent fire was caused by the fire on the trailer or its tyres. Thanks to the rapid intervention of the plant fire brigade, the situation was quickly brought under control. At the moment, the emergency services are still at the scene and are cooling the immediate vicinity of the trailer to rule out any further incidents.

Dr Günther, Managing Director of InfraLeuna, thanked all the emergency services of the InfraLeuna plant fire brigade as well as the plant fire brigade of TotalEnergies Raffinerie Mitteldeutschland GmbH & Co. KG and the volunteer fire brigade of the town of Leuna, who had been called in as a precautionary measure. He also emphasised that the prudent actions of Linde and InfraLeuna personnel had made a significant contribution to preventing personal injury.

The situation is currently under control and there is no longer any risk of a further gas leak. The cause and the exact extent are currently unknown and Linde is working with the authorities to prevent further incidents.