Western Romania: Explosion at Lugoj police headquarters possibly caused by underground pipe

The explosion that left three people injured and destroyed an annex of the Lugoj Police headquarters in western Romania may have been caused by an underground gas pipe, according to investigators.

The building that housed the Criminal Records Office, which collapsed following the explosion, was not connected to the gas supply network, so preliminary investigations outlined the possibility that an accumulation of gas occurred beneath the building. However, after teams from the Timiș County Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, officers from the Criminal Investigations Service, along with gas network specialists, examined the entire perimeter where the explosion occurred, they discovered the pipe.

The mayor of Lugoj, Călin Dobra, said that there have been problems with the natural gas supply network in the central area of the city before. The mayor said that in December, approximately 70 people were evacuated due to a gas leak.

“The first one, at the end of December, involved only the evacuation of people due to gas leaks, also in a central perimeter. Now we have reached a much more delicate and much more serious problem,” Dobra stated, according to Digi24.

The gas supply in the area is interrupted at present, and five streets remain closed by the Police.

A powerful explosion occurred on Wednesday, January 14, at the Traffic Police headquarters in Lugoj, western Romania. The blast left three officers injured, and two of them were transported to the hospital with burns. The explosion occurred around 8:15 AM and also damaged a police vehicle, another car, and the windows of five apartments.

(Photo source: screenshot from Buletin de Timisoara's video on Facebook)