Bucharest, Romania – October 17, 2025 – A horrific explosion ripped through an apartment building in Romania’s capital on Friday, claiming the lives of three individuals and leaving at least 13 others injured, according to official reports.
The powerful blast devastated the fifth and sixth floors of the eight-story residential block. The city’s Inspectorate for Emergency Situations promptly deployed a massive response, sending over a dozen emergency vehicles, including eleven fire engines and four mobile intensive care units, to the chaotic scene on Calea Rahovei in Sector 5 of Bucharest.
While the exact cause of this tragic incident remains under investigation, authorities confirmed that the gas supply to the affected area was immediately shut off as a critical safety measure.
The Romanian Ministry of Health reported that the victims suffered various severe injuries, including polytrauma and extensive burns.
Rescue teams discovered one person tragically deceased beneath a concrete slab on the building’s sixth floor. In total, at least 13 injured individuals were transported to hospitals across the capital.
In the aftermath, all residents of the affected building were safely evacuated, with rescuers tirelessly conducting thorough search operations to locate anyone who might have been trapped. As a precautionary measure, students and teachers from a nearby school were also evacuated, as stated by Bucharest’s School Inspectorate.
Dramatic video footage released by emergency services captured the extensive damage: the corner apartments on two floors were severely twisted and mangled, and windows in adjacent buildings were blown out. Debris from the explosion was scattered across the street, painting a stark picture of the incident’s force.
Emergency authorities further noted in a statement that “another nearby apartment block was also impacted by the explosion, exhibiting detached structural elements from its facade.”