A massive explosion at a petrol station in a Rome suburb on Friday morning injured 45 people, two critically, and was felt across the Italian capital.
The blast, which occurred around 8:20 AM (0620 GMT), was preceded by a fire caused by a gas leak during refuelling, according to Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri.
Mayor Gualtieri visited the site in the Prenestino neighbourhood of eastern Rome, where the petrol and liquified natural gas (LNG) station and an adjacent sports centre were left charred and smoking.
The explosion sent a fireball and dense black smoke into the sky, shaking windows across Rome and leading some residents to initially fear a bomb had detonated.
Michele Secu, 23, who worked at the now-destroyed sports centre, described feeling his “skin burning” from the powerful blast.
Emergency Services Affected, Major Disaster Averted
Emergency services had been called to investigate the gas leak before the explosion and successfully evacuated the immediate vicinity, including a children’s summer camp. Of the 45 injured, 21 were emergency personnel, including 12 police officers, according to Rome police.
Local health authorities reported that two men were hospitalised in a life-threatening condition, one suffering burns to 55% of his body.
Fabio Balzani, head of the sports centre, emphasised that a major disaster was narrowly avoided.
He noted that approximately 60 children were expected at the summer camp and around 120 people had booked the swimming pool for relief from the ongoing heatwave.
“It would have been a massacre, a catastrophe,” Balzani told AFP.
Andrea Quattrocchi, local chief of the Carabinieri police, highlighted his team’s timely intervention, which included extracting a person alive from a burning car.
Ennio Aquilino, regional director of the Lazio fire department, explained that the explosion was a BLEVE (boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion) of the liquified natural gas, likening its effect to “a bomb has gone off.”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her concern and offered support to all those affected by the incident.
