22 injured after a huge incident occurs at the Nurburgring

An explosion in the paddock at Nurburgring on Friday night left 22 people injured, four of them seriously. The German circuit is hosting a long-distance race of the Nurburgring Endurance Series this weekend. The organisers decided to allow the race to go ahead.

An explosion occurred in the paddock ahead of the 2024 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) fourth race. The incident occurred shortly after 18:00 hours behind a garage in the paddock while drivers were engaged in a test session. Preliminary findings suggest that the explosion was caused by a pressure cylinder.

Twenty-two people were injured in the explosion. Four of them are in serious condition, one of them very seriously. Koblenz city police confirmed this. Emergency services were quickly on the scene and victims were treated at the medical centre before being transported by helicopter to nearby hospitals. Police are investigating the accident scene.

After consultation with team bosses, the ILN (Nurburgring Long Distance Interest Group) and drivers' spokesmen, the organisers decided to allow Saturday's race to go ahead. "There has been an accident during the test that has deeply shocked us all. Our thoughts are with those affected. However, the incident is not directly related to the event, so we have decided together with our teams to let the event go ahead," said VLN boss Mike Jäger.