Two people were left in a critical condition after an explosion rocked a major Italian city.

A building in Rome collapsed following an explosion at 12.50pm on Sunday, March 22, of a LPG cylinder. The explosion affected three houses, destroying all of their walls, and debris damaged parked cars, Italian national broadcaster RAI reported.

According to reports, two people were seriously injured in the explosion; a husband and wife aged 86 and 84, who were taken to Sant’Eugenio Hospital in “critical conditions”. Police are also currently working with Civil Protection personnel to provide housing assistance to those evacuated from nearby buildings, which have been declared uninhabitable by the fire service due to the damage.

Italian press agency ANSA added 29 residents were evacuated, and dozens of people were forced into the streets. “The explosion was so powerful that it scattered debris and pieces of window frames hundreds of meters away, also damaging several parked cars, whose windows were shattered,” they also said.

Roberto Gualtier, Mayor of Rome, said: “We’re determining how many people will need housing assistance.

“The building where the explosion occurred was completely destroyed, and all the surrounding buildings are more or less damaged. The firefighters will assess which buildings are fit for habitation and which aren’t; it appears not all will be declared unfit for habitation. We’ll see how many people will have to move; some, we already know, will be staying with relatives.”

The fire service shared an update on X saying that “after rescue operations, they exclude the presence of other casualties”. They also confirmed two people were rescued.

A man, who was one of the residents witnessing the explosion, told Corriere della Sera: “We heard a devastating bang coming from the house across the street. The debris hit everything: the window, my son’s car, the gate, everything was destroyed. Luckily, my wife, my dog, and I are okay; the gate saved us.”