Blast Said to Trigger Quake in E. Germany

An earthquake, possibly triggered by a mine blast, Monday toppled chimneys on several people in East Germany and damaged 80% of one town, news reports said.

The official East German news agency said the quake was recorded at a magnitude of 5.5 and was centered near the East-West German border.

In Washington, U.S. Geological Survey spokesman Don Finley said the epicenter was about 25 miles northeast of Fulda, West Germany.

The Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 2:02 p.m. and appeared to be the largest one ever recorded in the area.

The East German news agency said a number of people were hurt by falling chimneys.

The temblor damaged 80% of the buildings in Voelkerhausen, and some residents were evacuated to temporary shelters, the news report said. Although the quake shook populated areas in West Germany, including Frankfurt, officials reported no casualties or damage. The tremor also was registered in the Soviet Union, the news agency said.

It said that in the quake area, buildings were damaged, power was cut and a number of roads had to be closed.

The news agency said the earthquake was triggered by underground blasting in the Ernst Thaelmann salt and potash mine in Bad Salzungen, East Germany.

It said underground miners working near the blast site were evacuated after the quake, but it did not specify whether any were injured.

Finley said it was possible an explosion could trigger a quake.

“If an earthquake is about to happen relatively soon, an underground explosion could be the last straw to trigger it,” Finley said.

Waverly Person, a geophysicist at the Geological Survey station in Golden, Colo. which monitors quakes worldwide, said he had heard reports the quake was triggered by a “rockburst”--a sudden release of pressure--in a potash mine and said the quake was “rather large” to have been triggered that way.

But, he added, “There is the possibility that could happen. I’m not saying yes and I’m not saying no.”