An explosion, accompanied by a strong smell of gas, occurred on the fourth floor of a building Steps San Matteo in Toledo at the Quartieri Spagnoli, in Naples. Pieces of plaster have fallen onto the staircase below where the entrance to the building is located in the neighborhood crowded with tourists. A blanket of dust covers the parked cars and the entire steps below are covered in stones. There was a lot of fear, but no one was injured. Firefighters and police were on site and cordoned off the area and made people move away before starting checks in the building.
The explosion at Gradini San Matteo in Toledo occurred at number 26. The wall next to the fifth floor balcony came down. Presumably, the presence of some boiler can be hypothesized but this detail is yet to be ascertained. Only by a lucky coincidence there was no one on the street: until a few seconds before the street was occupied by children playing football and several tourists walking. Suddenly, the residents say, there was a noise, like an explosion and some said they smelled gas. The apartment on the fifth floor, according to initial checks, was temporarily uninhabited. Checks are underway on nearby apartments.
According to the first findings carried out by the firefighters, the cause of the explosion which shattered part of the condominium façade was apparently a gas pipe serving the area.. The firefighters, who rushed to the scene together with the police and ASL personnel, are verifying the fact reported by some residents that the mast in question has recently undergone maintenance work. A crowd of people, kept at a distance for safety reasons, follows the work of the firefighters who are demolishing the wall at the height of the balcony affected by the explosion.
