Four Die in Gas Explosion in Rome Apartment Building

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 28, 2001

Four Die in Gas Explosion in Rome Apartment Building

Four people have been killed in a violent gas explosion Tuesday at an apartment block in a Rome suburb.

Four people have been killed in a violent gas explosion Tuesday at an apartment block in a Rome suburb.

The victims of the blast, in which at least 33 people were also injured, were three firefighters and a young woman of 22, according to the capital's police chief, Emilio Del Mese.

One firefighter is also in a coma described as irreversible, and another is seriously injured.

Del Mese was revising down an earlier unofficial death toll of six given just after the tragedy.

Fire crews called out to check a leak on the ground floor of the large building in the city's northeastern suburbs were caught by surprise by the blast, which blew out windows and shutters of neighbouring buildings, and destroyed or damaged dozens of cars.

Residents had been asked to leave the building before the explosion, but some apparently refused to heed the request. The identities of the dead civilians are not known.

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