Several people were injured, including eight police officers and a firefighter, officials said. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear.
An explosion rocked a gas station in Rome on Friday, leaving several people injured, including eight police officers and a firefighter, officials said. The blast from the explosion was so loud that it was heard across the city.
A fuel tank at the gas station, in an eastern neighborhood of the city, exploded around 8:15 on Friday morning, the Rome police said. The station sold liquefied petroleum gas.
Firefighters and police officers had already been called to the gas station after an earlier incident involving a truck, and they were on the scene when the explosion took place, said Luca Cari, spokesman for the Italian fire service. The cause of the explosion was not yet known, Mr. Cari said, and he had no further information about the episode involving the truck.
“We only know that there was an explosion,” Mr. Cari said. After the blast, firefighters were working to douse a blaze that had started behind the station in a parking lot with cars confiscated by the judicial authorities, he added.
Footage began circulating on Friday morning showing the effect of the blast on the area and nearby homes. One video showed chunks of plaster that had landed hundreds of yards away. In another, a resident of a neighboring building said that windows had exploded and showed part of a door frame that had detached.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy said that she was monitoring the situation, as did Mayor Roberto Gualtieri of Rome. Ms. Meloni sent her sympathies to the injured and thanked those who were working to secure the area.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
