Explosion at Tunisian gas depot injures 35

An explosion on Thursday at a gas depot near Tunisia’s capital injured 35 people, four of them severely, civil protection services said.

“Around 6:15 am, a gas leak caused the explosion of gas cylinders in the premises of a distribution company in the oil field in Rades”, southeast of Tunis, civil protection spokesperson Moez Triaa told AFP.

All the victims were hospitalised after suffering first and second-degree burns while four of them were in intensive care, he added.

The energy ministry said in a statement that the fire at a gas depot of the Agil energy company in Rades was later brought under control.

An investigation had been opened to determine “the circumstances of this incident”, it added, without detailing the extent of the damage.

Agil, Tunisia’s largest fuel distribution company, has a network of more than 250 petrol stations throughout the North African country. (BSS/AFP)