The injured in the violent explosion of a gas station in Rome amount to 45.

Rome.- The injured in the violent explosion of a gas station this Friday in Rome amount to 45, including civilians and personnel from the Police and emergency services, according to the latest report from the Government delegation in the Italian capital.

The victims of the explosion present burns and injuries of varying severity, although only two are serious and have been admitted to the Sant'Eugenio hospital. Specifically, according to the latest official report, the injured are 24 civilians, 11 police officers, 1 of the carabinieri (militarized police), 6 from the fire department and 3 from Emergency Services. The explosion occurred shortly after 08:00 local time (06:00 GMT) at a gas station in the Prenestino neighborhood, on the outskirts of Rome, following an operation to unload liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) into the tank of this service station. The agents and firefighters were already on the scene, according to a first reconstruction of the events, because the LPG discharge had caused a leak and a first fire. At that moment, two explosions occurred causing a strong shock wave, which broke windows and projected debris hundreds of meters from the epicenter, as well as leaving a high column of smoke visible from different points of the Italian capital. A sports center with a children's summer camp, which was immediately evacuated, was located very close by, along with three residential blocks, when the first leak was confirmed.

"At the first signs of smoke, around 07:30 local time (05:30 GMT), we evacuated the children. There were eight present," explained the president of the Villa De Sanctis sports center, Fabio Balzani, to the media.

"If it had happened an hour later, it would have been a massacre: the 60 children from the summer camp would have been there, we the responsible ones, and 120 people with reservations at the pool. The sports center is damaged, it looks like a battlefield," he added. Civil Protection has recommended that the population of the affected area keep windows closed, not use air conditioners with outside air intake, and carefully wash fruits and vegetables grown in the area before consuming them.

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The mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, went to the scene and is in contact with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. Pope Leo XIV showed his closeness to the victims through a message on the X network: "I pray for the people affected by the explosion of a gas station that occurred this morning in the Prenestino Labicano neighborhood, in the heart of my Diocese. I am following the developments of this tragic incident with concern."