A series of explosions at an LPG filling station in Crevedia, not far from Bucharest in southern Romania, killed one person on Saturday night and injured another 57 people, some of them seriously. Most of the injured, 43 in total, are firefighters and police officers who were hit by an explosion from an LPG tanker truck during their large-scale operation.
The only fatality so far died of a heart attack and not burns, Romania’s Interior Ministry said. According to Civil Protection Chief Raed Arafat, the number of injuries would have been even higher if the Bucharest Fire Brigade had not deployed firefighting robots in the extremely difficult extinguishing operation due to multiple LPG tankers on the scene. Firefighters and police officers were caught by the blast wave from the second explosion, even though they were more than 100 meters away.
Two seriously injured are taken to Austria
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu (post-communists/PSD) announced late on Saturday evening that Romania had activated the EU’s civil protection mechanism for about a dozen people who had been severely burned. In addition to Italy and Belgium, where the first fire victims flew out on Sunday night, Austria, Germany, Norway and Bulgaria have also offered help. According to the head of civil protection, two seriously burned people could be flown to Austria during the day. Countless Bucharest residents rushed to respond to a call from emergency hospitals to donate blood on Sunday morning.
Gas station was closed, served as a parking lot
Due to the fire disaster, the Public Prosecution Service immediately intervened and is currently investigating at full speed. According to initial findings, the LPG filling station owned by the son of a local PSD politician had been closed since 2020, but the owner appears to have used it as a kind of parking lot for LPG tankers. As the Romanian media reported on Sunday, citing residents of Crevedia, two employees of the gas station were said to have tampered with one of the LPG tankers shortly before the first explosion.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
