ROME, Italy: Quick thinking by emergency responders helped prevent greater devastation after a gas station explosion in southeastern Rome injured dozens of people on July 4.

At least 40 people, including 11 police officers and one firefighter, were injured in the early morning blast, which sent flames and black smoke billowing into the sky. The explosion was powerful enough to be heard across the Italian capital shortly after 8 a.m., rattling nearby buildings and triggering evacuations.

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said local police and firefighters responded immediately after receiving reports of a gas leak. Two explosions occurred after their arrival.

"Local police immediately evacuated a sports center nearby, while other officers evacuated buildings on the other side of the gas station, avoiding a much more serious tragedy," Gualtieri said.

Authorities said 24 residents were among the injured, including two in serious condition. They are being treated at Rome's Casilino hospital. None of the injuries to law enforcement or firefighters were life-threatening.

Fifteen firefighting teams worked to control the blaze. Prosecutors have launched an investigation, focusing on a suspected gas leak during the unloading of liquefied petroleum gas.

Police were praised for evacuating a nearby sports center moments after the first explosion. Several children were brought to safety just in time to avoid a second blast.

"If it had happened, as I have already told everyone, half an hour later, it would have been a catastrophe," said Fabio Balzani, president of the sports center, noting the children's summer camp would have been underway by then.

One resident, Barbara Belardinelli, described being caught in the second explosion after stepping outside with her daughter to investigate the noise.

"As soon as we heard the second explosion, we were also hit by a ball of fire. I thought that a car near us exploded, and metal fragments were flying in the air," she said. "We felt the fire on the skin, the arm of my daughter is still red, it was horrible."

Others said the blast felt like an earthquake, shattering windows and damaging homes in the surrounding area.

Pope Leo XIV said he was praying for the victims of the explosion, calling it "in the heart of my Diocese." Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed support.

"Thanks to the rapidity and expertise shown in the first intervention to secure and close the affected area, and the speed of the rescue, it was possible to prevent this tragic event from having even more serious consequences," Meloni said.