Many injured in gas station explosion in Rome
The Italian capital was rocked by a massive explosion. A fuel depot was being filled from a tanker truck when the accident occurred, local media reported.
According to the Italian news agency ANSA, more than 20 people were injured in a massive explosion at a gas station in Rome . Among them were at least nine police officers who rushed to the site after the initial blast, said Mayor Roberto Gualtieri.
A second, even more serious explosion followed. It was so powerful that it could be heard throughout most of the city and shattered windows even at the other end of Rome. According to media reports, the accident occurred while a truck was filling the fuel depot of the gas station in the eastern district of Prenestino.
Several neighboring buildings and a children's holiday camp had to be evacuated for safety reasons. Video footage posted online shows a huge fireball in the sky and thick black smoke rising above Prenestino. Numerous firefighting crews were deployed.
Pope Leo XIV , who is also Bishop of Rome, expressed his condolences for the victims "in the heart of my diocese." He prayed for the injured and followed further developments with concern, the head of the Catholic Church added.
jj/wa (dpa, afp, rtr)
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