Gas pipeline blast kills four, injures five in Romania
25 September 2023
A gas explosion at a construction site in the eastern Romanian county of Vrancea killed four people and injured five others on 21 September. The incident happened at around 01:00 local time when a gas pipeline was ruptured and “mechanical sparks” caused an explosion, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said.
Image: General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations
The explosion happened near the town of Calimane?ti on a construction site for a new motorway. Emergency services were called to the scene after reports of a large explosion. The Vrancea County General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said in a statement that six water and foam extinguishing vehicles, as well as nine ambulances, were sent to the scene.
Four people were confirmed to have died at the scene while five others were rushed to hospital with burn injuries. The fire was extinguished by 05:20.
Officials said that the gas pipeline had likely been damaged and ruptured after being hit by a digger. Mechanical sparks then ignited the gas, causing an explosion. A full investigation would be carried out they added.
In August, two explosions at a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel station killed two people and injured 56 others in the town of Crevedia in southern Romania. An initial explosion resulted in a fire which spread to other fuel tanks at the station and caused a secondary explosion, injuring dozens of firefighters.
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