Two people are killed and nine injured in a blast at an Italian fuel storage near Florence

According to the president of the Tuscany region, an explosion at a gasoline depot facility near Florence owned by the Italian energy company Eni (ENI.MI) on Monday resulted in two fatalities and nine injuries. Three persons are still unaccounted for.

In a social media post, Eugenio Giani stated, “Today’s tragedy has left all of Tuscany united in grief.”

An location where trucks pack fuel to be transported to gas stations is where the explosion in Calenzano, on the northern outskirts of the Tuscan city, took place. It had little effect on other adjacent depots.

Giani told reporters, “The result would have been more tragic otherwise.”

According to area health authorities, three of the injured were in potentially fatal conditions.

Monia Monni, regional minister for public protection, told reporters that preliminary investigations showed that a cloud of gasoline vapor erupted, resulting in the fire and the collapse of a building at the scene.

Residents were warned to avoid the area and seek refuge indoors due to the incident, which produced a thick column of black smoke that could be seen from a distance. Within an hour, it was extinguished.

According to the environment protection agency of Tuscany, the explosion posed no health hazards to the general public, and local authorities likewise ruled out the possibility of contaminated public water supplies.

Connected to an Eni refinery on the Tuscan coast, the Calenzano depot occupies around 180,000 square meters. Jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline are all stored in its 24 tanks.

Police, forensic experts, and technical advisors were already involved, and prosecutors in the neighboring town of Prato announced they would launch an investigation to establish criminal responsibility for the tragedy.

Eni said in a statement that it was fully assisting with judicial authorities and offered its sympathies to the families of the fatalities and other accident participants.

A comprehensive probe was demanded by trade unions.

According to Luigi Sbarra, the head of CISL, “all companies, large and small, must comply with regulations on accident prevention” and increase their spending on personnel training, safety inspections, and maintenance.

“Protecting human lives comes before profit,” he stated.

In Italy, over 590,000 workers suffered injuries last year, including 1,147 fatalities, according to state agency Inail. One of the goals of a nationwide strike that took place on November 29 was improved worker safety.