At least 45 injured in Rome petrol station explosion
They include 12 police officers and six firefighters.
The blast happened at the distributor of petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the city's eastern neighbourhood of Prenestino just after 8am (7am Irish time).
The injured are being treated in local hospitals, Italian news agencies reported, with two in a critical condition due to extensive burns and needing ventilation support.
Website Roma Today published a photograph of a huge ball of flame and smoke rising high into the sky.
Separate images released by the fire department showed the petrol station almost gutted.
"I pray for the people involved in the explosion of a gas station (...) in the heart of my Diocese. I continue to follow the developments of this tragic incident with concern," Pope Leo XIV wrote on social media.
Firefighters and ambulance workers were caught up in the blast as they had been called to the scene earlier, after a truck hit a pipeline at the petrol station, Italian media said.
Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri, speaking from the site, told reporters that an incident during fuel-tank refilling operations was suspected, causing a gas leak, followed by a fire and the explosion.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked police, firefighters and other emergency services for helping to ensure "that this tragic event didn't have even more serious consequences".
The station had the Eni ENI.MI brand but was not owned by the Italian energy group, the company said in a statement.
A sports centre that hosts a youth summer camp opposite the site was evacuated before the blast, a representative said in a Facebook video, adding that the five children in its care were safe and with their families.
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Sunday World
2 hours ago
- Sunday World
Louth man jailed for ‘almost torture' of victim he livestreamed on Facebook
The injured man was tied to a chair and beaten for more than three hours and a judge said that extracts of the footage played to the court made for 'difficult viewing' A 39-year-old man has been jailed for six years and three months for what a judge described as 'significant violence over a prolonged period of time' against another man he tied to a chair and beat about the head. Judge Dara Hayes said it effectively amounted to a period of 'almost torture' inflicted on the victim. Declan Grimes, Grange Drive, Muirhevnamór, Dundalk, used the man's phone to livestream the attack which took place at a house in Dundalk. He pleaded guilty to a charge of false imprisonment and one of assault causing harm and received concurrent sentences of 7 years, and 3 years, nine months, respectively. These were marked consecutive to a fifteen-month term for affray arising from a separate matter, amounting to a total of 8 years and three months. The final two years were conditionally suspended. The substantive incident occurred at Earls Court, Armagh Road, Dundalk, on May 7/8, 2023, and video clips were played to the circuit court which showed the defendant verbally abusing and threatening the other man. Dundalk Courthouse Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 5th The assault was livestreamed on Facebook. A member of the victim's family recognised the house from a photo on Snapchat. Gardaí were contacted and the Armed Support Unit deployed though by that stage they were unaware that the victim had been released. Evidence was previously heard that the injured party accompanied his former partner to her father's Month's Mind Mass. Mr Grimes, the deceased's best friend, sat beside them. The victim and the woman went to the house in Earls Court where alcohol and cocaine were taken. They were joined at 4am by the defendant and began reminiscing about the deceased man. The next day Mr Grimes and the female went out to get drink. When they returned the victim decided to go out before changing his mind and going back to the house. When he arrived he saw the woman smoking crack cocaine and took the pipe from her. Declan Grimes punched him twice in the mouth. He sought refuge in the bathroom where he was further assaulted, including with the pedestal of the sink. The man locked himself in until effectively lured out by the woman on the false premise that the accused had left. The victim was then subjected to a 'savage beating'. Others joined in but Grimes was the principal offender. The man was tied to a chair and beaten about the head. The attack, with various implements, continued for in excess of three hours. He lost consciousness at times. He was eventually permitted to leave the property. When Gardaí arrived the defendant was spotted at a window. Entry was forced. Once inside officers saw that the house had been cleaned, and the washing machine was on. The defendant had to be subdued with pepper spray before being handcuffed. He has 76 previous convictions, among them five from the circuit court including for assault causing harm, aggravated burglary and making threats to kill. There were district court convictions for assault, robbery, affray, burglary and criminal damage. He has been in custody on these charges since May 9, 2023. Separately, the defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of affray stemming from a confrontation with another man at the Social Welfare Offices in Dundalk on November 15, 2022. When Grimes walked in he spotted a male sitting there. There was bad blood between them. A verbal exchange took place. CTV footage showed the defendant making some movement towards the other man. This person pulled out a knife. There was no actual violence or damage to property. A probation report detailed that Declan Grimes and his twin sister were the eldest of four. His parents were separated. He had a troubled family background including one particular incident of trauma when a child. He began taking cannabis at 10 and drinking alcohol at age 12. He went on to abuse, Ecstasy, heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine, his main drug of choice. A random drug test in jail last January came back negative. He was engaged in education courses and was in protective custody. The report continued that the defendant had taken responsibility for his offending and was deeply ashamed. He was at high risk of reoffending. The most serious charges had occurred during the currency of a suspended sentence. The defendant had written a letter to the court in which he said he was tired 'of the revolving door of prison'. Judge Hayes said that extracts of the assault footage 'made for difficult viewing'. The victim received many blows to the head in an attack which was livestreamed on social media. He had suffered 'an horrific ordeal' at the defendant's hands. The six-year and three-month sentence imposed was backdated to May 9, 2023. Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
Sunday World
2 hours ago
- Sunday World
Porn actor beat Irishman 13 times with hammer after killing partner during sex, trial told
Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, is accused of murdering couple Albert Alfonso, 62 and Paul Longworth, 71, on 8 July last year. A Colombian porn actor smashed a pensioner over the heard with a hammer at least 13 times before dismembering his body with a power tool and shoving it in a suitcase, a court heard. Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, is accused of murdering couple Albert Alfonso, 62 and Paul Longworth, 71, at their home in London on 8 July last year. Mr Longworth was Irish and Mr Alfonso was originally from France but had obtained British citizenship. Jurors have been shown horrifying footage of Mosquera stabbing Mr Alfonso to death during an extreme sex session at his flat in Scott's Road, Shepherd's Bush, west London. Albert Alfonso and Paul Longworth. He is said to have killed Mr Longworth earlier that evening by bludgeoning him repeatedly over the head with a hammer. Cause of death was described as resulting from blunt force trauma to the head. Mosquera caved in his skull by striking it with a hammer on nine different sites. The biggest injury site had been struck 'at least four' times, Woolwich Crown Court heard. As a result of the hammer smashing, Mr Longworth had multiple 'fragmented' fractures, 'some of the bone pieces had been pushed inwards. He then used the power tool to take Mr Longworth's head off and cut the rest of his body up. The remains of the two men were taken to Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol on 10 July. Police officers opened up the large suitcases to find the victims' body parts. One of the suitcases had a tag on it linking them back to an address on Scott's Road in Shepherd's Bush. Officers arrived at the address and found the heads of both Mr Longworth and Mr Alfonso inside a chest freezer. Forensic pathologist Dr Deborah Cook was asked for her conclusions after she performed a postmortem on Mr Longworth. She told the court the cause of death was 'blunt force trauma to the head.' She said: "The formal wording is blunt force trauma to the head, but I can tell you the level of force required is severe. The largest wound was several injuries, so the blows have to be more than nine in number. By the time you have several blows onto an area that is already fractured, you can no longer distinguish one from the next. Inside the skull is in multiple small pieces, and many of those fragments are driven inwards.' Asked by prosecutor Deanna Heer KC how many she thought there were, she said: 'I would say at least four at that site. Ms Heer asked: 'Strikes with what? 'A hammer,' Dr Cook replied. 'When a hammer strikes the head, the shape of the laceration is curved if the force is hard enough and sometimes if it is not used flat on, then one part of the hammer is going in. All the injuries can be accounted for with a hammer.' Mr Longworth was found to have an blood alcohol read of 114mg, above the drink drive limit of 80mg. Dr Cook made it clear that his alcohol level would not have impeded him though and that was clear due to the defence injuries to his hand. She said: 'The type of injuries on the right hand are what we call defence-type injuries. The hand comes up to the head to protect it and the hammer then strikes the hand, causing those injuries. He would not have been incapacitated through alcohol and those defence injuries show he was able to move his hand to protect himself. If he is a regular drinker, he may not have experienced any effects from a blood alcohol level of 114.' Mr Longworth's head was found with the upper set of dentures still in place. He was of a 'reasonably heaby build' and had a 41-inch waist, the pathologist said. He was found to have chronic liver disease, known as cirrhosis, but the exact cause of that could not be confirmed by the pathologist. After he died, Mr Longworth's body was cut up by Mosquera, using a combination of a knife and a power tool, it was said. He was cut across his thyroid cartilage, which in men is the Adam's apple. Dr Cook said: 'That was cut through and then next to that you have your carotid artery, that was cut through. 'Then at the back of the neck you have seven spine bones and the cut went between the fifth and the sixth spine bones in the neck.' Bones in the right arm of Mr Longworth appear to have been snapped rather than cut according to Dr Cook. 'Some sort of tool must have been used but it did not leave any distinctive marks on those left arm bones,' she said. Ms Heer asked: 'What about the right? 'They just appeared snapped so not showing anything that could be linked to a tool,' Dr Cook replied. 'Just at the end of the right radius a tool has been used to start the cutting.' Ms Heer asked: 'So perhaps an attempt to use the tool and then snapping? 'Yes,' she replied. 'The use of the tool must have come before the snapping but I don't think I can say much more than that.' Mr Longworth's leg had been completely 'disarticulated' and appears to have been cut off with a knife and tool. Dr Cook said: 'The skin line at the top of the left was very ragged, it was not one swift movement of a knife, it was several, I can't say how many, but several movements of the knife.' Ms Heer asked: 'What about the bone? 'There was a tool mark cut on the bone,' Dr Cook replied. Mosquera denies the murder of retired handyman Mr Longworth and Mr Alfonso, a swimming instructor. He has admitted the manslaughter of Mr Alfonso.
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Louth man jailed for ‘almost torture' of victim he livestreamed on Facebook
Judge Dara Hayes said it effectively amounted to a period of 'almost torture' inflicted on the victim. Declan Grimes, Grange Drive, Muirhevnamór, Dundalk, used the man's phone to livestream the attack which took place at a house in Dundalk. He pleaded guilty to a charge of false imprisonment and one of assault causing harm and received concurrent sentences of 7 years, and 3 years, nine months, respectively. These were marked consecutive to a fifteen-month term for affray arising from a separate matter, amounting to a total of 8 years and three months. The final two years were conditionally suspended. The substantive incident occurred at Earls Court, Armagh Road, Dundalk, on May 7/8, 2023, and video clips were played to the circuit court which showed the defendant verbally abusing and threatening the other man. The assault was livestreamed on Facebook. A member of the victim's family recognised the house from a photo on Snapchat. Gardaí were contacted and the Armed Support Unit deployed though by that stage they were unaware that the victim had been released. Evidence was previously heard that the injured party accompanied his former partner to her father's Month's Mind Mass. Mr Grimes, the deceased's best friend, sat beside them. The victim and the woman went to the house in Earls Court where alcohol and cocaine were taken. They were joined at 4am by the defendant and began reminiscing about the deceased man. The next day Mr Grimes and the female went out to get drink. When they returned the victim decided to go out before changing his mind and going back to the house. When he arrived he saw the woman smoking crack cocaine and took the pipe from her. Declan Grimes punched him twice in the mouth. He sought refuge in the bathroom where he was further assaulted, including with the pedestal of the sink. The man locked himself in until effectively lured out by the woman on the false premise that the accused had left. The victim was then subjected to a 'savage beating'. Others joined in but Grimes was the principal offender. The man was tied to a chair and beaten about the head. The attack, with various implements, continued for in excess of three hours. He lost consciousness at times. He was eventually permitted to leave the property. When Gardaí arrived the defendant was spotted at a window. Entry was forced. Once inside officers saw that the house had been cleaned, and the washing machine was on. The defendant had to be subdued with pepper spray before being handcuffed. He has 76 previous convictions, among them five from the circuit court including for assault causing harm, aggravated burglary and making threats to kill. There were district court convictions for assault, robbery, affray, burglary and criminal damage. He has been in custody on these charges since May 9, 2023. Separately, the defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of affray stemming from a confrontation with another man at the Social Welfare Offices in Dundalk on November 15, 2022. When Grimes walked in he spotted a male sitting there. There was bad blood between them. A verbal exchange took place. CTV footage showed the defendant making some movement towards the other man. This person pulled out a knife. There was no actual violence or damage to property. A probation report detailed that Declan Grimes and his twin sister were the eldest of four. His parents were separated. He had a troubled family background including one particular incident of trauma when a child. He began taking cannabis at 10 and drinking alcohol at age 12. He went on to abuse, Ecstasy, heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine, his main drug of choice. A random drug test in jail last January came back negative. He was engaged in education courses and was in protective custody. The report continued that the defendant had taken responsibility for his offending and was deeply ashamed. He was at high risk of reoffending. The most serious charges had occurred during the currency of a suspended sentence. The defendant had written a letter to the court in which he said he was tired 'of the revolving door of prison'. Judge Hayes said that extracts of the assault footage 'made for difficult viewing'. The victim received many blows to the head in an attack which was livestreamed on social media. He had suffered 'an horrific ordeal' at the defendant's hands. The six-year and three-month sentence imposed was backdated to May 9, 2023.
