Overview
- A reported gas leak at a Via dei Gordiani petrol station in Rome’s Prenestino district triggered an initial blast just after 8 a.m., followed by two further explosions that struck arriving police and firefighters.
- More than twenty people, including eight police officers, a firefighter and local civilians, suffered burn and blast injuries; none are in life-threatening condition.
- Ten teams of the Vigili del Fuoco deployed to extinguish the fire and conducted rapid evacuations of nearby homes, a sports centre and a children’s summer camp.
- The force of the explosions damaged adjacent buildings, shattered windows and sent a plume of dark smoke across the city as structural assessments got under way.
- Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Leo XIV issued messages of support for the injured and commended emergency personnel for their swift action.