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CatastropheRomania

Romania: Deadly explosions hit gas station near Bucharest

August 27, 2023

Two successive explosions have rocked a gas station in Crevedia, immediately northwest of the Romanian capital, Bucharest. Authorities are still investigating the incident that injured scores of emergency workers.

https://p.dw.com/p/4VcMD
Firefighters work to put out fire at gas station in Crevedia, southeastern Romania
Two succesive explosions injured dozens of people at a gas station near Bucharest, RomaniaImage: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images

Two people have died and at least 56 others have been injured in two explosions at a gas station near the Romanian capital, Bucharest, the Romanian Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

The two successive explosions occurred on Saturday at a liquified petroleum station (LPG) in the town of Crevedia, around 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) northwest of downtown Bucharest.

What else do we know about the explosions?

After the first explosion, the fire spread to two fuel tanks and a nearby house.

Authorities then evacuated everyone within a radius of 700 meters (770 yards) and traffic on the main road nearby was blocked, the government's emergency response unit (IGSU) said.

The fire had been contained by Sunday morning.

Smoke billows over gas station in Crevedia, Romania at night. Two fire trucks are working to put out the fire.
The fire in the southeastern Romanian village of Crevedia had been contained by Sunday morningImage: -/IGSU Romanian Emergency Services/AP/dpa/picture alliance

Among those injured were 39 firefighters, two police officers and two gendarmes, Romania's Interior Ministry said.

Those who died were a couple, emergency department head Raed Arafat told reporters.

He said a man had suffered a heart attack, while the woman died after sustaining severe burns.

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that at least four patients were likely to be transferred to hospitals in Italy and Belgium.

Hospital representatives said that another eight people suffered severe burns.

Authorities to investigate 

"The area needs to be assessed. The area is still dangerous ... There is a risk of another explosion at another tanker," Raed Arafat, state secretary of the Interior Ministry, told the Digi24 broadcaster.

Romania's hotnews.ro portal cited Arafat as saying that the station did not have authorization to operate.

"I'm profoundly saddened that the explosions in Crevedia resulted in victims," President Klaus Iohannis said.

"An investigation must quickly be launched to see if rules were broken. I ask the authorities to take urgent measures for the injured so that these tragedies won't happen again," he added.

sdi/ab (Reuters, AFP, dpa)