Hotel evacuated after suspected refrigerant leak in Bad Waltersdorf

About 140 guests and employees were evacuated from a hotel in Bad Waltersdorf in the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld district on Wednesday after a suspected gas leak, ORF reported. No one was injured.

The operation began at about 7:45 a.m. when a smoke detector alerted staff to an incident in the hotel’s technical room. Hotel technicians found heavy smoke in the basement and alerted emergency services.

About 50 firefighters entered the room wearing breathing apparatus. They used mobile pressure ventilation equipment to clear the basement of the released substances and checked the rooms with gas detection devices. After about two hours, the areas were reopened and a specialist company repaired the damage.

Investigators believe gaseous refrigerant escaped from a pipe in a faulty cooling system. Police said the substance was likely neither harmful to health in the small quantities released nor a fire or explosion risk. No danger to people remained.