Alarm in Rome for the explosion that occurred this morning in a petrol station in via dei Gordiani, in Prenestino. The loud bang was heard in many neighbourhoods of the Capital , with the flames that have not yet been tamed and are continuing to spread.
There were 45 injured in the explosion , including police officers, firefighters and residents in the area: they were all taken for treatment to various hospitals in the city . Two of them are in serious conditions at the Sant'Eugenio hospital: they have a complex clinical picture and are supported by mechanical respiration . Of the 45 injured , 24 are civilians, eleven police officers, one carabiniere, six firefighters and three 118 operators .
"There are several injured, one with more serious burns who worked right in the distributor and a second, they are at Sant'Eugenio - the words of the mayor Gualtieri -. The others are nine firefighters and police officers, several citizens were injured, but all the others are injured quite lightly from what we know, but of course we are following the conditions of everyone".
"We are taking care of the assistance to the people temporarily evacuated from their homes - the mayor continued - to verify that they are safe, then we will know if we will have to provide them with housing assistance or if they will be able to return. We are working on this, so it is obviously too early to make a more comprehensive assessment both on the injured and on the evacuees, and on the causes", he added.
The metro C Teano stop was also closed. The closure, Atac reports on its website, was triggered by order of the police.
"My mother has a cut on her leg, the windows are shattered" is the story of Claudia who lives a short distance from where the explosion occurred. Roberta says she left home "in slippers", "it looked like an attack", she says. While Alessandro says "pieces of wood flew into the house". Several residents of the area say they saw " people covered in glass in the street ".
"At the first hints of smoke around 7:30 we evacuated the children, there were 8 of them . The parents arrived, the kids are all fine. If it had happened an hour later it would have been a massacre: there would have been 60 children from the summer camp, us in charge, and 120 booked in the swimming pool . The sports center is damaged, it looks like a battlefield" the dramatic story of the president of the Villa De Sanctis sports club, Fabio Balzani.
According to initial information, the accident seems to have occurred shortly after 8am. Two explosions occurred, the second one being the most violent, and - as far as we know - first aid had been called for an accident that had occurred in the area shortly before: a truck had hit a pipeline , but it is not clear whether there is a correlation between the two incidents . In the meantime, some citizens had reported a strong smell of gas.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is closely following the rescue operations "with particular attention to people's health".
In the meantime , the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office is awaiting the first information from the firefighters and the police: in light of the file , the prosecutors, coordinated by the deputy prosecutor Giovanni Conzo, will open an investigation file .
(Online Union)