More than 20 people, including nine police officers and a firefighter, were injured on Friday in a huge explosion at a gas station in an eastern district of Rome, Italian authorities said, Reuters reports.
The website Roma Today published a photo of a huge ball of flames and smoke rising high into the sky. Separate images released by the fire department showed the gas station almost completely destroyed.
In addition to the first responders, 16 civilians, including the station manager, were injured, Rome police chief Roberto Masucci was quoted by Italian news agencies as saying. He added that no one was in a life-threatening condition.
Health authorities said five people were hospitalized with minor burns and injuries from broken glass. The large explosion at the petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distributor in the Prenestino district was heard in the Italian capital shortly after 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT).
„I pray for the people involved in the explosion at a petrol station in the heart of my diocese. "I continue to follow the development of this tragic incident with concern," Pope Leo XIV wrote.
Firefighters and ambulance crews were affected by the explosion, having been called to the scene earlier after a truck hit a pipeline at a fuel distributor, local sources reported.