Hallein, June 2, (dpa/GNA) – One man has been confirmed dead after a chemical accident at an Austrian factory on the border with the German state of Bavaria.
After the leak of sulphur dioxide in the morning hours, the worker died at the scene of the accident, the Austrocel Hallein pulp mill said in a statement on Wednesday.
Residents in the town of Hallein in the Austrian state of Salzburg were urged to stay indoors and close windows and doors. By mid-morning, however, the warning had been lifted.
The Bavarian police told dpa that there had been no danger for the local population on the German side of the border.
Joerg Harbring, head of Austrocel Hallein, said he deeply regretted the events and expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the victim.
He said his firm had invested a lot in recent years to keep the damage of a possible accident on people and nature as small as possible.
Austrocel produces textile fibres from wood and also produces electricity and district heating.
GNA