Ludwigshafen gas pipe explosion wreaks havoc
A gas explosion in Germany's southwestern city of Ludwigshafen killed an excavation worker and injured more than 20 other people. An entire neighborhood was devastated.
2014 German gas explosion
Gas leaked out of a pipeline, which had been damaged by excavation work. It caught fire for as yet unknown reasons - possibly flying sparks
The crater
The powerful explosion tore a crater in the ground 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter and 5 to 6 meters deep.
Extremely hot
The heat from the fire was so intense that nearby houses and trees were burned to charcoal. It took firefighters more than two hours to get the blaze under control.
Under shock
Neighbors watching the rescue efforts were unable to grasp what had happened. Police are now investigating what exactly caused the damage to the 57-kilometer (35 mile) pipeline.
The destruction
Even after the fire was extinguished, meter high plumes of smoke continued to rise from the site.
The shockwave
The blast was so powerful that the shockwave blew out windows in homes and cars throughout the entire neighborhood. Anything made of plastic simply melted.
Rubble and ruins
More than 50 buildings and homes were destroyed. The cost of the damage has been estimated at several million euros.
Investigation continues
The gas transport company Gascade announced that excavation workers had been digging around the buried pipeline near the apartment blocks at the time of the explosion, as well as near a factory site operated by BASF, the world's largest chemical company, which has its headquarters in Ludwigshafen.