Around 30 hurt in fuel station blast heard across Rome

Rome: A huge explosion at a petrol station in a Rome suburb on Friday injured around 30 people, the vast majority of them lightly, and rattled windows...

Rome: A huge explosion at a petrol station in a Rome suburb on Friday injured around 30 people, the vast majority of them lightly, and rattled windows across the Italian capital.

Visiting the scene, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said the injured were nine law enforcement officers and around 20 other people, one of them in a serious condition.

Neighbouring buildings were evacuated following the blast at around 8:20 am (0620 GMT), which Gualtieri said caused "enormous damage", including to a sports hall which was hosting a children's summer camp.

The children were taken to safety beforehand and were unharmed.

Gualtieri said there had been a gas leak during a refuelling operation and an initial fire. Emergency services were on the scene and evacuations were already underway when the blast occurred.