According to information provided by “Il Messaggero”, the incident occurred around 12:50 in via Tavagnasco.
The force of the explosion was so great that one of the buildings was almost completely destroyed, and fragments of the structure and equipment were scattered within a radius of 200 meters.
Firefighters, including specialist teams with rescue dogs, were immediately dispatched to the site. After several hours of rescue operation Two residents of the destroyed villa were rescued from the rubble – a married couple aged 84 and 86.
They were both transported to Sant'Eugenio Hospital in critical condition with numerous injuries. Rescuers confirmed that there were no more people under the collapsed building.
The effects of the explosion and the actions of the services. The causes of the disaster under the microscope of investigators
As a result of the explosion, about 70 people from neighboring houses were forced to evacuate. City services and Civil Defense immediately began relief activities, providing temporary shelter for those whose apartments were damaged or cut off from utilities. The shock wave also shattered the windows of many nearby houses and damaged cars parked in the street.
The mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, who appeared at the scene of the tragedy, emphasized that the extent of the damage was enormous. He pointed out that the buildings affected by the disaster were relatively new, built only seven years ago and had not exhibited any technical problems so far.
Preliminary findings indicate that the cause may have been a gas installation failure inside one of the villas.
The explosion not only completely destroyed one property, but also seriously damaged the structure of two neighboring houses, which were deemed uninhabitable.
