At least 45 injured in Rome petrol station explosion

At least 45 people have been injured in a huge explosion at a petrol station in Rome, according to Italian authorities.

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.