Explosion at Rome Petrol Station Injures 45

A powerful explosion ripped through a petrol and liquefied natural gas (LNG) station in the Prenestino district of eastern Rome on Friday morning, injuring at least 45 people, including two in critical condition.

The blast, which occurred around 8:20 am, was preceded by a fire caused by a gas leak during a refueling operation, according to Rome’s Mayor, Roberto Gualtieri. The shockwave from the explosion rattled windows across the Italian capital, with some residents fearing a bomb had detonated.

Gualtieri visited the scorched remains of the fuel station and an adjacent sports centre, both severely damaged by the blast and engulfed in thick, black smoke.

One of the survivors, Michele Secu, a 23-year-old who worked at the now-destroyed sports centre, described the terrifying moment the explosion occurred. “The explosion was really powerful. I felt my skin burning,” he said. “I was 15 metres from the petrol station… it exploded in front of me. I don’t know how I managed to run, to escape.”

Emergency services had been alerted to the gas leak before the explosion and had already begun evacuating the area, including a children’s summer camp nearby. Despite the quick response, 21 of those injured were members of the emergency services, including 12 police officers, Rome police confirmed.

Local health officials reported that two men remained in life-threatening condition. One of them suffered burns to 55 percent of his body.

Fabio Balzani, head of the sports centre, said the timing of the explosion likely prevented a far greater tragedy. “It would have been a massacre, a catastrophe,” he said, noting that around 60 children were expected to arrive for summer camp and over 100 people had booked the swimming pool as relief from the ongoing heatwave.

Andrea Quattrocchi, the local commander of the Carabinieri, also credited his team’s fast action for saving lives. “They extracted a person alive from a burning car,” he said, confirming the victim was taken to hospital.

Eyewitnesses recounted seeing an ambulance explode in the inferno.

Ennio Aquilino, regional head of the Lazio fire service, explained the technical cause of the blast. He said the explosion was due to a BLEVE — a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion — involving liquefied natural gas. “The effect is as if a bomb has gone off,” Aquilino said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni extended her sympathy to the victims and commended first responders for their rapid intervention, which she said helped prevent an even greater disaster.