Stock Photo - 10 May 2023, Saxony-Anhalt, Bernburg: Firefighters use extinguishing water to cool the area around a natural gas cavern during an emergency exercise in Peißen near Bernburg. VNG Gasspeicher GmbH and Erdgasspeicher Peißen GmbH are practicing an emergency in the cavern field of the Bernburg and Katharina underground gas storage facilities. The exercise scenario is a collision of a vehicle with a natural gas cavern, which causes a so-called blowout. As a result, uncontrolled natural gas escapes from the cavern. This incident must be remedied using special technology from a service provider. The aim of the exercise is to test the functionality of the service provider's technology in cooperation with the operators, the local emergency services and the authorities involved. A total of more than 170 emergency personnel are involved in the three-day exercise, which will end on Thursday (May 11) with the firefighting work on the cavern. Exercises of this scale are carried out every five years. Photo: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa. - Bernburg/Saxony-Anhalt/Germany