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ROME: At least nine people, including eight police officers and a firefighter, were injured on Friday after an explosion at a petrol station in the east of Rome, Italian authorities said.
The large blast at the distributor of petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the Prenestino neighbourhood was heard across the Italian capital. “We are working on a tank explosion … the fire is still ongoing,“ the fire department said in a statement, adding one of their officers had been hospitalised.
“As soon as we heard the second explosion, we were also hit by a ball of fire. I thought that a car near us exploded, metal fragments were flying in the air,” she said. “We felt the fire on the skin, the arm of my daughter is still red, it was horrible.”
These first responders were among those injured, with at least eight police officers and one firefighter requiring medical attention.
Five individuals remain hospitalised with more serious injuries, though authorities have confirmed that none are in critical condition. The force of the explosion started a fire with many nearby buildings damaged, with authorities evacuating their residents.
A local sports centre that was currently hosting a youth summer camp was also evacuated. Rome’s metro station was temporarily closed due to these safety concerns.
No fatalities have been reported.
The main outburst has been taken under control by local firefighters, though traffic consumes area as safety inspections are ongoing. No further evacuations have been reported.
Consequently, the Rome Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into the incident, focusing on potential breaches of safety protocols during the petrol unloading operations and the instances surrounding the pipeline collision.
Emergency services were on the scene before the blast, as they had been called after a truck hit a pipeline at the service station, Italian news agencies reported. They added that the fire had spread to a nearby depot, while the shockwave from the explosion damaged nearby buildings.
Eight police officers were injured, an official told Reuters, and ambulance workers and passersby were also hurt, news agencies reported, without giving numbers. Emergency services said that five people had been taken to hospital.
Local news website Roma Today published a photograph of a huge ball of flame and smoke rising high into the sky above the service station and surrounding homes. Separate images released by the fire department showed the petrol station almost completely gutted.
“I heard it as I was leaving the house, there was a very loud bang, the whole house shook and I was afraid the windows might shatter given how strong it was,“ a Reuters witness said. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was following the situation, her office said in a statement. – Reuters
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