Serious industrial accident in Hungarian power plant: worker airlifted to burn unit
A serious workplace accident occurred on Saturday afternoon at the Ajka power plant in western Hungary, leaving one worker with severe burn injuries. Initial reports suggested a dust explosion, but later it was confirmed that the incident was caused by the release of hot dust during maintenance work.
According to local news outlet Ajkai Szó, the injured worker was airlifted by a rescue helicopter to the burn unit of the Győr hospital. Two other employees suffered minor injuries and received treatment at the Ajka hospital.
Challenging conditions after the accident
Rescue teams faced extremely difficult conditions during the operation. Paramedics found the seriously injured worker about eight metres above the ground, lying on a small, six-square-metre rooftop that could only be reached via makeshift wooden planks laid down by other workers. Due to the location and the worker’s condition, only limited on-site treatment was possible. Firefighters assisted in bringing the victim down safely using a ladder truck and a lifting basket.
The Ajka ambulance service wrote on Facebook that, after stabilising the patient and providing pain relief, the man was transported to the hospital’s helipad, where he was intubated and then flown to Győr by the Budaörs air ambulance crew.
Henrietta Csondor, spokesperson for the Veszprém County Disaster Management Directorate, confirmed that professional firefighters from Ajka responded to the scene with one fire engine and a high-reach rescue vehicle. They extinguished minor glowing material at the site before assisting with the rescue.
No explosion occurred
Vollár Attila, CEO of Bakonyi Erőmű Zrt., which operates the plant, told Ajkai Szó that no explosion occurred. “It was not a dust explosion, but a release of hot dust during maintenance that caused the injuries,” he said. Both the authorities and the power plant have launched investigations into the circumstances of the incident.
The Ajka ambulance service expressed gratitude to everyone involved in the complex rescue effort — including plant employees, local firefighters and police, the Veszprém and Tüskevár ambulance units, and the Budaörs helicopter crew — for their exemplary cooperation.
Photos of the rescue operation can be seen in Ajkamentők’s Facebook post.