At least two people were killed and another nine injured on Monday in an explosion at a fuel depot on the outskirts of Florence, according to city officials and the company operating the facility. The cause of the explosion remains undetermined.
The death toll may increase, as three workers at the depot in Calenzano are still unaccounted for, officials stated. The explosion occurred around 10:20 a.m., with television images capturing a large plume of black smoke rising from the site.
ENI, the Italian energy company that owns the depot, confirmed in a statement that the explosion was confined to a loading area and that a resulting fire did not spread to nearby tanks.
Nello Musumeci, Italy’s minister for civil protection, reported on social media that rescue workers were deployed immediately following the explosion. Local hospitals were placed on high alert.
Firefighters from Florence and surrounding towns, along with units from nearby airports, responded swiftly to extinguish the fire, according to Luca Cari, a spokesman for Italy’s firefighters.
Italy’s national civil protection agency sent an SMS alert to residents within a three-mile radius of the site, advising them to remain indoors and avoid the area.
Officials in Calenzano urged citizens to close their windows and limit outdoor activities. Two days of mourning were declared for Monday and Tuesday, during which all municipal events were canceled.
Florence Mayor Sara Funaro described the situation as “very, very bad” and stated that the city would provide psychological assistance to the families of the victims. “In these moments, we must think of the families who are the first to be affected; we have to be close to them,” she said.
Luca Tescaroli, the chief prosecutor of the nearby city of Prato, announced that his office would open an investigation to determine the causes of the explosion and assess any potential accountability, as reported by Italian media.