An acetylene cylinder exploded at 4.30 pm in the boot of a vehicle parked in the car park of a heating and plumbing company. A little before the accident, another employee had taken delivery of 4 acetylene cylinders from a neighbouring supplier; these cylinders and an oxygen cylinder were in particular poorly lashed down in the boot of the car, with no special precautions or protection. Upon his return, the employee heard the characteristic whistling of a gas leak. Unaware of the danger, 3 of his colleagues approached the vehicle and one of them tried to reseal the leaking cylinder when the blast occurred due to the high concentration of acetylene in the boot.

A safety perimeter of 100 m was set up. One of the company’s employees who received serious burns to his face and hands was hospitalised as an emergency and 7 other people received minor injuries (eardrums, ringing in the ears, etc.). Firefighters extinguished the fire at around 5 pm. The intact cylinders were cooled in a tank of water. The emergency services intervention ended at 6 pm.

During its investigation, the work inspection noted serious negligence in terms of employee information and training on the transportation of dangerous goods. The cylinders should normally have been placed in a crate and transported in a suitable vehicle. However, this type of unprotected transportation was common within the company. The representative of the public prosecutor’s office noted that the employer had failed in its obligation to provide training and information and criticised its negligence. A sentence of a 30,000 euros fine was requested against the company, as well as a 5,000 euro suspended fine against its manager.

The warehouseman, who had been burned, joined the civil action during his employer’s process for involuntary injuries and breach of an obligation for safety and training. The correctional court released the company, but sentenced its representative to a 5,300 euros fine, 3,000 of which was suspended.