Weird news of the week: Methane from 90 flatulent cows cause dairy farm explosion

Methane gas released by 90 windy cows has caused a barn to explode in Germany

11:23 30 January 2014

A dairy farm in Rasdorf has been damaged following a gas explosion, but source wasn't a leaky appliance. Instead the potentially lethal gas came from the 90 cows housed within the barn.

Local police confirmed that high levels of methane gas built up in the cow shed due to the animals' continuous burps and farts before “a static electric charge caused the gas to explode with flashes of flames."

The roof of the cow shed was lifted in the blast and one of the cows had to be treated for burns.

The emergency services also took gas readings while they were there.

Cows can emit around 500 litres of greenhouse gas methane every day through their flatulence and belching as well as plenty of ammonia. As such, cattle ranching is seen as a pollution heavy business which can toxically acidify soil and water bodies.