Fatal Blasts at Unlicensed Gas Filling Station Near Bucharest Claim One Life and Leave 57 Injured
Late on Saturday, two explosions shattered an unlicensed liquefied petroleum gas filling station situated just north of Bucharest, Romania’s capital, resulting in one fatality and injuring 57 individuals, officials have confirmed.
The majority of those harmed were firefighters who promptly rushed to the station to extinguish the fire sparked by the initial explosion, only to face a second explosion.
Among the injured, several sustained severe burns, including 39 firefighters, two police officers, and two gendarmes, as stated by Raed Arafat, the head of the emergency department, during his update on Sunday.
“Overnight we transferred two firefighters and two civilians abroad (for treatment) and more will follow,” Arafat said in a statement.
The defense ministry reported that the four individuals were relocated to either Italy or Belgium.
The cause of the explosions in Crevedia, a cluster of villages, remains uncertain, and authorities have initiated an investigation.
“We know that the station was no longer working, so it clearly didn’t have a permit to function,” Arafat said.
The fire also forced the evacuation of people within a 700-metre (770 yards) radius.
