Rome petrol station explosion injures 21, damages buildings and cars
According to initial information from the Rome fire brigade, the accident, which occurred at around 8:20 am, was caused by a technical fault during refuelling.
None of the injured are in a serious condition, authorities said. Five people were reportedly hospitalised, all with minor burns and injuries caused by shattered glass from the explosion.
The blast was heard in other parts of the Italian capital, with the plume of smoke visible across the city. According to the Agi news agency, the explosion was so violent that some people inside the flats near the petrol station were also injured.
Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said local police and firefighters rushed to the area after being alerted to a gas leak. Two explosions followed after they arrived, he added.
Initially, 10 people were reported injured: eight police officers, a firefighter and an emergency operator.
'There were a few chain explosions after the first one,' Elisabetta Accardo, a spokesperson for the Roman police, told Italian state broadcaster RAI. 'All the policemen injured suffered burns, but they are not in danger of life.'
The shock wave caused damage to some of the surrounding buildings and vehicles, which caught fire. The flames quickly spread to a law enforcement warehouse located behind the petrol station.
The area was cordoned off to facilitate safety operations, with firefighters continuing to work to extinguish the blaze under challenging conditions, as Rome remains hit by an intense heatwave that has lasted for weeks.
Residents interviewed by local media said the explosion was so loud and violent that it struck nearby buildings 'like an earthquake'.
The Rome Public Prosecutor's Office is awaiting the initial reports from the fire brigade and the police to open an investigation file.
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Euronews
16 hours ago
- Euronews
Rome petrol station explosion injures 25, damages buildings and cars
An explosion on Friday at a petrol and LPG station in the neighbourhood of Centocelle in Rome's southeast injured at least 25 people, according to authorities. According to initial information from the Rome fire brigade, the accident, which occurred at around 8:20 am, was caused by a technical fault during refuelling. None of the injured are in a serious condition, authorities said. Five people were reportedly hospitalised, all with minor burns and injuries caused by shattered glass from the explosion. The blast was heard in other parts of the Italian capital, with the plume of smoke visible across the city. According to the Agi news agency, the explosion was so violent that some people inside the flats near the petrol station were also injured. Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said local police and firefighters rushed to the area after being alerted to a gas leak. Two explosions followed after they arrived, he added. Initially, 10 people were reported injured: eight police officers, a firefighter and an emergency operator, a number which Gualtieri later said reached around 20 before the toll was updated to 25. 'There were a few chain explosions after the first one,' Elisabetta Accardo, a spokesperson for the Roman police, told Italian state broadcaster RAI. 'All the policemen injured suffered burns, but they are not in danger of life.' The shock wave caused damage to some of the surrounding buildings and vehicles, which caught fire. The flames quickly spread to a law enforcement warehouse located behind the petrol station. The area was cordoned off to facilitate safety operations, with firefighters continuing to work to extinguish the blaze under challenging conditions, as Rome remains hit by an intense heatwave that has lasted for weeks. Residents interviewed by local media said the explosion was so loud and violent that it struck nearby buildings 'like an earthquake'. The Rome Public Prosecutor's Office is awaiting the initial reports from the fire brigade and the police to open an investigation file.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Dozens hurt in fuel station blast heard across Rome
The blast around 8:20am (0620 GMT) was preceded by a fire caused by a gas leak during refuelling, according to Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, who provided the toll of injured. Gualtieri visited the charred and smoking remains of the petrol and liquified natural gas (LNG) station and an adjacent sports centre in the Prenestino neighbourhood of eastern Rome. The explosion sent a fireball and thick black smoke into the air, and was heard on the other side of Rome, shaking windows and causing some residents to worry that a bomb had gone off. "The explosion was really powerful. I felt my skin burning," Michele Secu, a 23-year-old who worked at the now-destroyed sports centre, told AFP. Before the explosion, emergency services and police were called to investigate the gas leak and had evacuated the immediate area, including a children's summer camp. Police said 10 of their officers and one member of the fire service were injured, in addition to 16 civilians, two of whom were in a serious but not life-threatening condition. Fabio Balzani, head of the sports centre, said if the fire had occurred just a bit later it could have been disastrous, with 60 children expected at the camp and around 120 people booked to use the pool. "It would have been a massacre, a catastrophe," he told AFP. Gas explosion Andrea Quattrocchi, the local chief of the Carabinieri police force, said the timely intervention of his team was crucial. "They extracted a person alive from a burning car," who was taken to hospital and is in a serious but stable condition, Quattrocchi told reporters. Witnesses said an ambulance exploded in the fire. Ennio Aquilino, regional director of the Lazio fire department, said the petrol station explosion was caused by a "BLEVE" -- a boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion -- of the liquified natural gas. A BLEVE is caused by the rapid vaporisation of a pressurised liquid, normally when the vessel containing it is ruptured in some way. "The effect is as if a bomb has gone off," Aquilino told reporters. He said the first call to firefighters had been for a gas leak, then shortly afterwards came the explosion. He said they did not have time to stop it, only to clear the area. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was following the situation, and offered her support for all those injured. © 2025 AFP
Euronews
a day ago
- Euronews
Rome petrol station explosion injures 21, damages buildings and cars
An explosion on Friday at a petrol and LPG station in the neighbourhood of Centocelle in Rome's southeast injured at least 21 people, according to reports. According to initial information from the Rome fire brigade, the accident, which occurred at around 8:20 am, was caused by a technical fault during refuelling. None of the injured are in a serious condition, authorities said. Five people were reportedly hospitalised, all with minor burns and injuries caused by shattered glass from the explosion. The blast was heard in other parts of the Italian capital, with the plume of smoke visible across the city. According to the Agi news agency, the explosion was so violent that some people inside the flats near the petrol station were also injured. Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said local police and firefighters rushed to the area after being alerted to a gas leak. Two explosions followed after they arrived, he added. Initially, 10 people were reported injured: eight police officers, a firefighter and an emergency operator. 'There were a few chain explosions after the first one,' Elisabetta Accardo, a spokesperson for the Roman police, told Italian state broadcaster RAI. 'All the policemen injured suffered burns, but they are not in danger of life.' The shock wave caused damage to some of the surrounding buildings and vehicles, which caught fire. The flames quickly spread to a law enforcement warehouse located behind the petrol station. The area was cordoned off to facilitate safety operations, with firefighters continuing to work to extinguish the blaze under challenging conditions, as Rome remains hit by an intense heatwave that has lasted for weeks. Residents interviewed by local media said the explosion was so loud and violent that it struck nearby buildings 'like an earthquake'. The Rome Public Prosecutor's Office is awaiting the initial reports from the fire brigade and the police to open an investigation file.
