Rome gas station blast that left at least 40 injured could have been worse, says mayor

ROME — A gas station explosion early Friday in southeastern Rome injured at least 40 people, including 11 police officers and one firefighter, but immediate rescue intervention avoided a much more tragic outcome, local authorities and rescuers said.

The explosion was heard across the Italian capital shortly after 8 a.m. and sent up a huge cloud of dark smoke and fire that was visible from several areas of the city.

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said that local police and firefighters rushed to the area after receiving a report of a gas leak. Two explosions followed after they arrived, he added.

''Local police immediately evacuated a sports center nearby, while other officers evacuated buildings on the other side of the gas station, avoiding a much more serious tragedy," Gualtieri said.

Police said that at least 24 residents were injured, including two who were in ''severe conditions,'' and hospitalized at Rome's Casilino hospital.

Eleven of the injured are from law enforcement corps — police and carabinieri — and one is a firefighter, they said, adding they are not in life-threatening conditions.

Fifteen firefighting teams were at the site trying to bring the fire under control.

Rome prosecutors have begun an investigation into the cause of the explosion, which could be related to a previous gas leak during the unloading phase of liquified petroleum gas at the station.

The sports center near the gas station was evacuated swiftly by police following the first explosion, with several children brought to safety just in time to avoid the second.

Fabio Balzani, president of the sports center, noted that the timing of the first explosion was key to avert a carnage, as just half an hour later dozens of children would have arrived at the summer camp.

''If it had happened, as I have already told everyone, half an hour later, it would have been a catastrophe," he said.

Barbara Belardinelli said that she and her daughter were slightly injured when they heard the first explosion and left their home to investigate before the next explosion struck them.

''As soon as we heard the second explosion, we were also hit by a ball of fire. I thought that a car near us exploded, metal fragments were flying in the air,'' she said. ''We felt the fire on the skin, the arm of my daughter is still red, it was horrible."

Other residents said the explosion was so loud and violent it struck nearby buildings ''like an earthquake,'' breaking windows and ripping off shutters.

Pope Leo XIV said that he was praying for those affected by the explosion, which happened ''in the heart of my Diocese.''

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was closely following the developments.

''Thanks to the rapidity and expertise shown in the first intervention to secure and close the affected area, and the speed of the rescue, it was possible to prevent this tragic event from having even more serious consequences,'' Meloni said.