“The commander of the intervention called in a static engineer and dogs to search the rubble. Building stabilization equipment and a helicopter with our air rescuers are heading from Brno,” the South Moravian fire brigade said on the X network shortly after the explosion.
The spokesman for the South Moravian rescuers, Lukáš Dvořáček, added on the ČT broadcast that the severely injured person was airlifted to a hospital in Brno-Bohunice, while the moderately injured person was taken by ambulance to the surgical department in Znojmo. According to him, another six people were slightly injured.
According to the land registry, there are nine apartments in the building.
Nine fire brigades, paramedics and the police intervened on the spot. The search of the rubble continued even after the injured were taken away. “Police officers searched the rubble with a dog and I can confirm that no one was left under the rubble,” Mayor František Koudela (ODS) said after 1 p.m.
17 people were evacuated in connection with the explosion. “The house will be demolished,” the mayor said on Facebook. The mayor did not want to speculate about the level of demolition. “It is necessary to get the house into a state where it will not be dangerous,” he said on the ČT broadcast.
According to the mayor, the cause of the explosion could have been a gas leak. He urged citizens not to go to the scene to take pictures and thus not complicate the work of the rescuers.
Due to the landing and departure of the rescue helicopter, the police temporarily closed the nearby Vídeňská třída.
Update: Avoid Kotkova Street‼️Emergency services are on the scene, it is probably a gas explosion. On…
Posted by František Koudela on Sunday, December 15, 2024
“The opposite house has glass windows, but it is not necessary to evacuate people. The gas workers stopped the gas supply,” added the firemen.
People who had to leave the damaged house were offered alternative accommodation by the city hall, two people are considering it, others are moving in with family.
According to the mayor, the city has eight vacant apartments ready for the victims if necessary. He also wants to help with the quick demolition of the most damaged part of the building.
