After the massive explosion in a Graz residential building on Wednesday morning, the severely injured man rescued has died in hospital, the police announced in a statement on Wednesday evening. The 47-year-old resident of the affected apartment was still able to free himself from the rubble and was subsequently brought by ambulance to LKH Graz.

According to the Graz Professional Fire Brigade, emergency services were alerted shortly after 9:30 a.m. The building on Roseggerweg is no longer habitable after the explosion. The roof collapsed, entire walls are missing. The cause of the explosion is not yet known, but the fire brigade speaks of a possible gas explosion. Eighteen emergency responders from the professional fire brigade were on site. To rule out that persons were buried under debris, responders deployed a drone with a thermal imaging camera—at least wherever it was possible.

The completely destroyed building was officially cordoned off. Additionally, with a multi-gas detector and the thermal imaging camera, the site was checked for further possible gas leaks and potential fire sources, and fire protection measures were established, according to the professional fire brigade.