ROME: A man injured during a huge explosion at a petrol station in a Rome suburb last week died on Wednesday, a local administration official told AFP.
The 35-year-old, who worked at the gas station in the Prenestino neighbourhood of eastern Rome, suffered burns over 55 percent of his body, the official said.
A total of 45 people were hurt in Friday morning’s blast at the petrol and liquefied natural gas (LNG) station, which was heard across Rome.
The explosion sent a fireball and thick black smoke into the air, shaking windows and causing some residents to worry that a bomb had gone off.
Before the explosion, emergency services were called to investigate the gas leak and had evacuated the immediate area, including a children’s summer camp.
Twenty-one of the injured were from the emergency services, including 12 police officers.
The Rome prosecutor’s office and the fire service are investigating the precise cause of the accident.
Ennio Aquilino, regional director of the Lazio fire department, said at the scene Friday that the blast was caused by a “BLEVE” -- a boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion -- of the liquefied natural gas.
A BLEVE is caused by the rapid vaporisation of a pressurised liquid, normally when the vessel containing it is ruptured in some way.
“The effect is as if a bomb has gone off,“ Aquilino told reporters. – AFP