Flames rise after an explosion at a LPG station in Crevedia, near Bucharest, Romania, August 26, 2023. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via REUTERS
BUCHAREST (Reuters) -One person died and 57 were injured after two explosions at a liquefied petroleum gas station in the Romanian town of Crevedia near the capital Bucharest on Saturday.
After the first explosion, the fire spread to two fuel tanks and a nearby house, leading authorities to evacuate everyone within a radius of 700 meters, while traffic on the main road nearby was blocked, according to the government's emergency response unit (IGSU).
A second explosion occurred at the LPG station on Saturday evening injuring 26 firefighters, Deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat, who is in charge of the emergency response unit, told reporters.
The fire was contained by Sunday morning, and the prosecutor general has taken over the investigation.
Most of the injured were people from the services who intervened. Eight people were intubated after suffering severe burns, the government said.
"We think four of the patients will more than certainly be transferred tonight to hospitals in Italy and Belgium," Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu told reporters after an emergency meeting with the state agencies involved in handling the crisis.
Arafat said the gas station did not have authorization to operate, hotnews.ro reported.
LPG is widely used in Eastern Europe as fuel as it is significantly cheaper than gasoline or diesel.
(Reporting by Marek Strzelecki and Luiza Ilie; editing by Christina Fincher, Daniel Wallis and Hugh Lawson)
