13 injured in explosion at home improvement store in Romania, authorities say

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A natural gas explosion at a building in Youngstown, Ohio, Tuesday, was captured on CCTV. (WOIO via APTN)

• An explosion occurred at a home improvement store in northeastern Romania, injuring at least 13 people.
• A mobile intensive care unit was dispatched to the scene in the town of Botosani.
• Four of the injured are in serious condition, while 10 suffered various traumas and burns.

An explosion at a chain home improvement store in northeastern Romania on Friday injured at least 13 people, four seriously, authorities said.

A mobile intensive care unit was dispatched to the scene in the town of Botosani, in Suceava county, emergency authorities said. Four of the injured are in serious condition and two are intubated, while 10 were conscious but suffered “various traumas and burns” and are receiving medical attention.

Emergency helicopters were alerted, and two ambulances and two fire trucks were sent to the scene to extinguish a fire. A search and rescue mission was underway inside the store. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast, nor whether the injured were customers or staff members.

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Two of the victims in serious condition will be transported to a hospital in the city of Iasi, about 68 miles to the south, while two will be airlifted to the capital, Bucharest, to receive faster medical care, according to the ministry of health. 

Firefighters work at the scene of an explosion at a DIY chain store in Botosani, Romania, on June 7, 2024. The explosion on Friday injured at least 13 people, authorities said. (Romanian Emergency Services – ISU Botosani via AP)

Some of the injured suffered burns of 10-15% to the upper parts of their bodies, it said.

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Video footage shared by the emergency authorities showed part of the building’s facade had been blown out by the explosion, with air-conditioning units strewn across the area in front of the store amid a blanket of debris.