FORMULA E’s pre-season testing has been halted as a man was rushed to hospital after an explosion set a team garage on fire.
The accident took place at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo and was probably caused by a battery explosion.
A loud bang was heard from inside the Williams garage, who supply the batteries for the series.
A man was then rushed to the medical centre after appearing to suffer from smoke inhalation and potential burns.
However, it has been reported that he escaped without any serious damage.
Members of staff were seen running away from the garage shouting, “Get out, get out” as the fire brigade rushed to the scene.
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A Formula E statement read: “In a break between practice sessions, a fire was detected in the pit lane and garage area which has been contained.
“The on-track Incident Response Team acted immediately to contain the incident while the main pit building and garages were quickly evacuated.
“One person has been assessed by medics and has been transported to hospital for precautionary checks.
“Formula E, the FIA and local fire authorities are investigating the cause and will provide a further update in due course. Fire crews remain on site to put out the blaze.”
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The incident occurred after the Formula E cars returned to the garage following their first three-hour session.
About 3,000 staff members, teams and journalists were present for the first day of the pre-season test.
An eye-witness said: “There was a huge bang and everyone started running from the garages.
“We couldn’t believe how quickly it escalated, there were people sprinting away, others tried to run back but couldn’t because of the smoke. We were evacuated from the pit lane really quickly.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
