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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.
