Twenty-two people were injured when a compressed air canister exploded in the paddock area of Germany’s Nurburgring racetrack. One person was severely injured, three seriously and the other 18 were only slightly hurt when the explosion happened on August 3.
Several people were airlifted to a nearby hospital by helicopter, according to the Associated Press. The explosion happened behind a pit in the track’s paddock area during a test and set-up period ahead of the Nuerburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) NLS24 six-hour race. Organizers told the outlet that the race would still go ahead as planned after talking to all involved parties, but said participation was voluntary.
A boss for the racing series released this statement to Road and Track:
“A regrettable work accident happened during the test, and we are all deeply shocked and in thoughts with those affected,” said VLN boss Mike Jäger. “However, the incident is not directly related to the event, so we decided together with our teams to hold the event.”
Here’s what track officials said in a statement on Twitter:
During the test and setup runs ahead of the fourth round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS), an explosion occurred shortly after 6 PM behind a pit in the Grand Prix paddock area. Preliminary findings suggest that the explosion was caused by a pressure cylinder.
Extensive emergency personnel on site immediately initiated appropriate first measures and secured the accident scene. The setup run was immediately interrupted. Initial reports indicate that there are several injured individuals who, after receiving immediate care at the Nürburgring Medical Center, were transported by rescue helicopter to nearby hospitals. The police are investigating the scene, as is customary in such situations. Further information will follow.
Police remained on the scene Saturday as they continued to investigate what happened, though initial findings indicate “a malfunction or mishandling of the compressed air canister may have triggered the blast,” according to AutoWeek.