The technicians were working on a gas leak when a very loud bang shook the San Giovanni Galermo district of Catania and was also heard in other parts of the city. A three-story building collapsed and two others were damaged. The provisional toll is about ten injured, some seriously, but it could increase. There are no missing persons. The firefighters of the provincial command arrived immediately on site with three teams and also the special Nbcr units. After the news of the collapse, the Usar search and rescue teams and dog teams also arrived. Some elderly people were immediately evacuated from the center of the Opera diocesana di assistenza that is located in the area where the explosion occurred.
The road where the explosion occurred had already been closed to traffic, to allow two teams from the gas company to operate to search for a leak in the city network . After the explosion, however, all access roads to via Galermo were blocked as a precaution and to facilitate the arrival of emergency vehicles, ambulances and patrols of carabinieri and police. "There is news of people injured, some seriously. But there is no certain news about any victims. The cause of the gas leak is not even certain", explained the mayor of Catania Enrico Trantino who immediately arrived at the site of the explosion. The toll could have been more serious but fortunately "these are public housing blocks being renovated and there were not many people inside", added the mayor. The collapsed building was in fact uninhabited at the time.
The injured were transported to hospitals: the most serious, a sixty-six-year-old with burns also on his face and head, is in red code at Cannizzaro . A 51-year-old woman who was hit by the shock wave is also hospitalized in the same hospital, but is not in serious condition. Among the injured are also two firefighters, two 118 operators from the San Giovanni Galermo office, three gas technicians and a municipal engineer. The last four were engaged in identifying the gas leak.
The explosion left rubble of damaged buildings on the ground, tore down some fences and destroyed cars that were parked on the street. The area is shrouded in smoke and there are still small fires to be put out . More than an hour after the explosion, the gas channeled underground blew up some manhole covers. While the firefighters are busy securing the area, the crisis unit activated by the Prefecture of Catania is organizing, with the Municipality, Civil Protection and volunteer associations, the evacuation of at least 150 people from the San Giovanni Galermo district . The Municipality will choose the site where to host the people, it seems that the Palasport in Piazza Spedini should be activated.
(Online Union)