45 injured in Rome gas station explosions
July 4 (UPI) -- Dozens of people were injured by two accidental explosions at a Rome gas station at 8 a.m. local time on Friday.
A tanker truck struck a pipe while at the gas station, which caused a gas leak that led to an explosive chain reaction, the BBC reported.
A relatively small blast triggered a larger blast several minutes later, which caused extensive damage in Rome's Prenestino neighborhood.
At least 45 people, including 21 first responders, were injured as the explosion shook nearby buildings and shattered windows while creating a large fireball and black smoke.
❌#Roma, #esplosione in un distributore di carburante in via dei Gordiani, zona Casilino: coinvolto uno dei #vigilidelfuoco intervenuti. Squadre impegnate a spegnere le fiamme che stanno interessando il deposito giudiziario nella parte retrostante la stazione di rifornimento.... pic.twitter.com/P0zLAzFg3T— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) July 4, 2025
At least five have been hospitalized, including two men who are being treated for life-threatening injuries.
A neighboring sports center and several other buildings also were badly damaged by the gas station explosions and fire.
Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri inspected the devastation and told the media emergency teams prevented a "much more serious tragedy" by evacuating those inside nearby buildings after the initial explosion occurred.
❌#Roma, ricognizione dell'elicottero dei #vigilidelfuoco, Drago 162, sull'area dell'#esplosione in zona Casilino. Sotto controllo l'#incendio nei luoghi vicini il distributore carburante, operazioni di spegnimento in corso [#4luglio 11] pic.twitter.com/JK32cfebFo— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) July 4, 2025
Pope Leo XIV offered prayers for those affected by the tragedy, the Vatican News reported.
"I pray for the people involved in the explosion at a gas station this morning in the Prenestino Labicano district in the heart of my diocese," Pope Leo said.
"I continue to follow with concern the developments of this tragic incident."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
'Tiger King' cast member 'Doc' Antle sentenced for animal trafficking
July 8 (UPI) -- Bhagavan "Doc" Antle of "Tiger King" is going to federal prison for crimes related to trafficking exotic animals after being sentenced Tuesday in Charleston, S.C. U.S. District Court of South Carolina Judge Joseph Lawson III sentenced Antle, 65, to serve 12 months and one day, plus a $55,000 fine and three years of supervised release for violating the Lacey Act, WBTW reported. The Lacey Act bans the sale of illegally acquired wildlife, fish or plants, including those that are designated as protected species by the federal government. Antle entered guilty pleas to conspiracy and money laundering charges in November 2023 and was a cast member of the popular Netflix documentary series "Tiger King" that debuted on Netflix in March 2020. "I made a mistake," Antle told the court on Tuesday. "I did stupid things that never should have taken place, and I'm hoping to pull it back together." Antle founded the Myrtle Beach Safari wildlife preserve in South Carolina and was accused of conspiring to arrange the purchase or sale of two tigers, two lion cubs, two cheetah cubs and a young chimpanzee from September 2018 to May 2020. The animals are protected by the federal Endangered Species Act. Federal prosecutors said Antle hid the transactions by using bulk cash payments and falsified paperwork to hide the financial transactions by making them appear to be donations to the non-profit wildlife preserve. Antle also was accused of laundering proceeds in exchange for a 15% fee related to transporting and harboring "illegal aliens" from February to April 2022. Police arrested Antle in June 2022 on charges of wildlife trafficking, for which he was convicted on four counts in a commonwealth court in Frederick County, Va., in 2023, WCIV reported. The Virginia court sentenced Antle to a suspended sentence of two concurrent years for each charge and $10,000 in fines. An appellate court overturned two of those convictions, and he was banned from working with, possessing, trading or otherwise engaging in activities involving non-native species in Virginia for five years. Two of Antle's employees also were convicted for their part in the criminal activities. Meredith Bybee served a year of probation for selling a chimpanzee, and Andrew Sawyer served two years of probation for helping Antle launder money.
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Special prosecutor begins probe into Unification Church executives
SEOUL, July 9 (UPI) -- South Korea's special prosecutor has formally designated Hak‑ja Han, head of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, popularly known as the Unification Church, as a criminal suspect. The office is extending its investigation to include allegations of bribery via a religious intermediary, embezzlement of church funds for casino gambling and interference in law enforcement. Prosecutors allege that luxury goods -- including designer handbags and diamond jewelry -- were acquired to be given to the former First Lady Keon‑hee Kim, wife of the recently impeached former President Suk-yeol Yoon. The items had been transferred through Seong‑bae Jeon, known as "Geonjin Beopsa," a spiritual adviser to the church. Investigators are working to establish whether directives came from senior church officials and if funds were misused for political influence. The special prosecutor's office has announced that summonses will be issued soon to several senior Unification Church executives. Among those investigators are set to question Young‑ho Yoon, former director-general of the church's world headquarters; Young-ho Yoon's wife, previously a leading figure in church finances; Won‑joo Jung, deputy director at the church's central Cheonmu Institute. To date, no such individuals have been taken into custody or formally interviewed, but prosecutors have confirmed plans to bring them in for questioning as part of the unfolding inquiry. A travel ban had been placed on all three. Won-joo Jung had been granted permission last month to visit her critically ill husband. However, to date, she has not yet returned to Korea. Financial audit teams uncovered records indicating that church donations -- totaling tens of billions of Korean won -- were allegedly used for gambling at Las Vegas casinos, dating from 2008 through earlier this year. Investigators traced rewards‑club reports reflecting substantial bets and gaming sessions attributed to church figures. Prosecutors are also probing whether the church attempted to obstruct a separate police investigation into this gambling activity. Authorities executed search and seizure operations July 8, seeking internal communications that could demonstrate exertion of political pressure or bribery to obstruct the earlier inquiry. This probe spans multiple suspected criminal offenses: illicit transfer of luxury goods as political bribes, embezzlement of church funds for gambling, obstruction of justice through interference with police investigations, and potential collusion involving religious leaders, former police officials and political intermediaries. The formal opening of a criminal case into Hak‑ja Han marks a pivotal escalation in this investigation. As summonses to key church figures draw closer and forensic evidence continues to accumulate, questions are mounting about the church's financial and political entanglements. This case has generated intense interest in the Korea media over past several months. It represents one of the most high-stakes probes into religious-political influence in South Korea, raising significant questions about institutional transparency and accountability. Earlier this year, the Tokyo District Court issued an order for the dissolution of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in Japan -- formerly called Unification Church Japan. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
UPI
2 hours ago
- UPI
Judge orders mental evaluation in appeal for Laken Riley's convicted killer
The 2024 murder of 22-year-old Georgia university student Laken Riley received a lot of attention from President Donald Trump, who in January signed into law the Laken Riley Act (pictured). File Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo July 8 (UPI) -- A Georgia judge ordered a mental evaluation for Jose Ibarra, the man convicted in the 2024 murder of 22-year-old university student Laken Riley. It will determine if Ibarra, a native of Venezuela, was mentally competent at the time of the crime and later at trial, including whether he understood the legal consequences of waiving a trial by jury and if he is mentally equipped to assist in his own appeal. In November, Ibarra was convicted of malice murder and other related charges in the February 2024 attack that left Riley, a nursing student, dead near a wooded trail on the campus of the University of Georgia. It was the impetus behind the Laken Riley Act, decried as a political move by opponents and which passed the Senate and was signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on January 29. The decision to call for the mental evaluation was issued last week by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who sentenced Ibarra to life in prison with no chance of parole. Haggard's order filed on Thursday instructs officials to figure out if the undocumented migrant was "capable of understanding the nature and object of pretrial proceedings, including waiver of jury trial rights." Ibarra, 27, is hoping to vacate his guilty sentence or secure a new court trial after his attorneys filed a new-trial motion only weeks after his conviction late last year. His legal team argued that the guilty verdict was "contrary to law" and evidence. Ibarra, who speaks Spanish as a first language and possibly faced a language barrier, was characterized as "a slow learner" last month during a virtual hearing by defense attorney David Dodds. The state, for its part, did not oppose the evaluation request but filed a separate motion to seek public money to retain expert witnesses for a possible court appeal.
