No fewer than two people have been killed while at least 56 others were injured in the two huge explosions that rocked a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) station in Romania.
The injured victims of the blasts include 39 firefighters who went to the scene following the first explosion near the capital Bucharest on Saturday evening, BBC reports.
It was reported that shortly after the first explosion, a second blast sent a mushroom cloud billowing into the sky, rocking the forecourt in Crevedia.
Authorities said that several people injured in the explosions are in critical condition with severe burns, and Raed Arafat, the head of Romania's emergency department, on Sunday said that the two people who died were a couple.
They sent four people who were injured, including two firefighters, to hospitals abroad and said others would follow.
Also, two police officers and two gendarmes are among the injured victims, but authorities have not ascertained what caused the blast.
However, Arafat said that the fuel station was no longer in use and "did not have a permit to function."
People within a 700-metre (almost half a mile) radius were initially evacuated from the area, with Mr Arafat warning there was a risk of another explosion, but by mid-morning, the fires had been contained.
Romania's President, Klaus Iohannis, has been quoted as describing the explosions as a "tragedy" and saying that he was "profoundly saddened" by what had happened.
He added, "An investigation must quickly be launched to see if rules were broken. I ask the authorities to take urgent measures for the injured so that these tragedies won't happen again."
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