Huge explosion at ammunition factory in Rome causes fright but no injuries

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Huge explosion at ammunition factory in Rome causes fright but no injuries

2026-08-14 02:02 Last Updated At：02:10

ROME (AP) — An explosion sparked by a fire at an ammunition factory sent up a towering plume of smoke Thursday in the town of Colleferro near Rome but no injuries were reported, local officials said.

The blast took place at a plant owned by KNDS Ammo Italy, which produces ammunition and other defense-related products, and it appeared to have originated in the powder-pressing department, officials said.

Residents in the area reported a loud blast, and images and videos circulating widely on social media showed what looked like a giant mushroom cloud above the facility.

“We initially thought it was an earthquake,” resident Annarita Quattrino said, adding that she was taking a nap at home in the early afternoon when she heard a loud boom that shook the entire building.

Police and 10 firefighting crews backed by a helicopter responded as the fire continued to burn, spreading to nearby vegetation.

Colleferro Mayor Giulio Calamita said there had been “a huge scare” but that no injuries were reported.

Francesco Rocca, president of the Lazio region, said in a statement that he was monitoring with “great concern” the events in Colleferro. “At this time, the absolute priority is to ensure people’s safety and allow all personnel involved in the emergency response to operate under the best possible conditions,” he added.

Initial reports by local media said all 24 workers who were inside the facility at the time of the explosion had been accounted for. The blast appeared to have been confined to a single production and storage area, Calamita said.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. Police and prosecutors were investigating the cause at the scene.

— Video journalist Andrea Rosa in Rome contributed to this report.

UK records hottest day of the year as western Europe swelters once again

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. recorded its hottest day of the year Thursday during an excessively dry stretch that saw multiple fires break out as an intense stretch of hot weather continued to grip Europe.

The Met Office said the temperature of 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in west London was a tenth of a degree higher than the previous record set June 28. It remained below the U.K.’s August record of 38.5 C (101.3 F), set in 2003.

Britain, like France, is experiencing its fifth heat wave of the year, with the first recorded in May. The latest extreme heat means 2026 has now had a record four days with temperatures of 36 C (96.8 F) or higher. It also has matched 2022 with two days reaching 38 C.

Temperatures in France, meanwhile, have gone even higher, approaching 41 C (106 F) in several areas, from Aquitaine in the southwest to the Rhone River valley in the east, according to the national weather service.

At least two new grass fires broke out in different areas of the West Midlands in central England, officials said. Multiple homes were burning in Stourbridge next to a golf course, Sky News helicopter footage showed.

The most intense heat is forecast to move eastward away from Britain and France on Friday and then recede over the weekend.

This summer has shown that both Britain and France are ill-equipped to deal with these levels of heat. Air conditioning is a rarity outside of shops and offices, for example.

In Britain, nurses have collapsed from heat exhaustion while working in hospitals, many housed in aging buildings that lack adequate cooling, the Royal College of Nursing said Thursday.

“When nursing staff are collapsing, feeling dizzy, sick or even being admitted to the very hospitals they work in because their workplaces cannot handle the heat, it shows just how badly they are being failed,” said Nicola Ranger, the college’s chief executive and general secretary.

Like many parts of Europe, Britain and France are facing widespread drought conditions that have shriveled crops and drained rivers, heaping pressure on water resources for households, agriculture and the environment, and forcing governments and water users to seek both short- and long-term measures to mitigate the effects of human-caused climate change.

Britain’s Southern Water, which oversees supplies in the south of England, has applied for a rare drought order which would ban businesses from nonessential water use, including cleaning cars and filling nondomestic swimming pools, saying an “exceptional” lack of rain is threatening supplies. Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will decide on the application, which would be the first such ban since May 2006.

With temperatures soaring, many people headed to beaches and outdoor pools or found other ways to cool off. In Bordeaux in southwestern France, children and adults sought relief in the city’s iconic “water mirror.” Some frolicked in fountains, splashed their faces and filled up water bottles. Birds too quenched their thirst.

With the land parched and no sign of any meaningful rain coming, authorities in Britain and France remained on high alert for wildfires – while major blazes broke out further south in Europe.

In northern Greece, more than 300 vacationers and residents were evacuated by sea Thursday after a wildfire swept through a pine forest and threatened seaside homes, authorities said.

The Fire Service said nine water-dropping planes and seven helicopters were assisting 250 firefighters around the Siviri resort on the popular Halkidiki peninsula.

There were no initial reports of injuries or serious property damage.

In Britain, which is increasingly looking sandy brown rather than its traditional luscious green, firefighters have been out in force this week trying to contain a wildfire in the New Forest in southern England.

Some 1,017 wildfires have been recorded in England and Wales this year, according to data from the National Fire Chiefs Council, the same as last year’s record-breaking total.

Though not on the same level as those witnessed in France, Greece and Spain, they provide ample evidence of the need for the U.K. to adjust to a new reality.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will consider imposing a ban on disposable barbecues amid the risk of further wildfires as extreme heat continues to grip parts of the U.K.

“I do believe we need to get the message out loud and clear,” he said. “People should not be using those barbecues outside at this moment in time.”

French firefighters were back in action too after a desperate summer and are threatening to go on strike to demand more staff and resources to cope with increasingly extreme weather events.

One broke out late Wednesday in the northern Pas-de-Calais region, and another in Brittany, far from the hotter, drier and more fire-prone regions in southern France. A historic fire devoured forests near Bordeaux last month and pushed a quarter of a million people from their homes.

Charlton reported from Paris. Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece contributed.