According to the DPA agency, a powerful ignition at the flare unit caused the failure of the storage facility. The largest strategic storage facility in Germany is located in the federal state of Lower Saxony.
A spokesman for the Federal Office for Mines, Energy and the Environment said it was not a human error, and the Federal Network Agency was quick to assure Germans that the incident would not affect the country's natural gas supply.
There were no harmful emissions, no damages or injuries, the authorities said, limiting themselves to stock phrases.
At the moment, no gas is being pumped into the storage facility. The volume of blue fuel reserves in the Rehden UGS is 90%.