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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Megan Howe

British tourist 'fighting for life' after gas explosion at B&B in Rome

Emergency services at the scene after an explosion at a building thought to be a gas leak - (AP)

A British tourist is fighting for his life after a devastating gas explosion at a B&B apartment in Rome’s Monteverde district.

The 54-year-old man was pulled from the rubble of the two-storey building at around 9am on Saturday.

A Facebook page associated with the name indicated that he had been sightseeing in Rome since mid-March.

In a haunting post on March 17, he wrote “accommodation is beautiful”, adding “This should be a good week...if I don’t get killed in some ungodly way.”

Members of the emergency services at the scene after an explosion (AP)

Fire crews reported hearing cries coming from the rubble of the property and spent nearly an hour trying to free the man, believed to be from Scotland.

He was rushed to nearby Sant’ Eugenio hospital and is understood to have suffered third degree burns to 75 per cent of his body.

A witness told Rai television news: “I was stopped at the traffic lights at the intersection when I heard an explosion. It was like a bomb, a terrifying bomb.”

Another woman who lives on the same street was cleaning her apartment at the time of the explosion.

She also said it sounded like a bomb had gone off, noting how all of her windows started to shake.

Rome's Mayor Roberto Gualtieri visits the scene after a building explosion (AP)

Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, has since visited the ruins and said he is working with police and civil protection officials to investigate the blast.

He said: “Initial findings seem to indicate that it was a gas leak, perhaps from a cylinder that exploded, causing very significant damage.

“There is one injured person. He is reportedly a guest of an accommodation facility, and investigations are under way into the B&B.”

No other injuries have been reported.

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