The explosion was heard across the Italian capital shortly after 8 a.m. local time and sent a huge cloud of dark smoke and fire that was visible from across the city.

Dozens of people were injured, including 10 police officers and a firefighter, officials said. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear.

A gas station explosion in southeastern Rome has injured at least 40 people, including eleven police officers and a firefighter who rushed to the scene, but wider loss of lives was narrowly averted, t