At least 25 people were injured on Saturday after a large gas explosion ripped through a bar on Manuel Maroto Street in Madrid’s Puente de Vallecas district, emergency services said.
Three of the injured were said to be in critical condition and two in potentially serious condition, officials said. The blast, which occurred at about 3 p.m., also affected flats above the ground-floor premises and left a section of the street partly collapsed.
Firefighters and civil protection teams worked to clear rubble from the bar while sniffer dogs and drones searched the wreckage and adjoining areas, Madrid emergency services said on X. Video and photos shared by the service showed a partially collapsed ceiling, bricks and masonry strewn on the pavement, doors torn from their hinges and glass shards scattered on the road.
Authorities said medical and civil protection teams had treated 25 people at the scene. Madrid city council posted on X that police had attended to 21 injured people, three of them serious and two potentially serious, and that 18 firefighting units were working to remove debris. The council said the Aerial Support Section of the Madrid police was assisting with drones.
First responders were seen carrying at least one victim on a stretcher. Police closed off part of Manuel Maroto Street and were directing traffic on adjoining roads as emergency crews continued operations.
Neighbours who spoke to El País described the area as an inhabited ground floor and said the blast affected the flats above the bar. Authorities did not immediately report any deaths.
Emergency services said search teams, including canine units, were combing through the site to locate any other victims and to secure the area. Officials also warned residents in nearby buildings to take precautions while crews worked to stabilise the scene.
Local authorities said inquiries into the cause of the explosion were under way. Preliminary reports from first responders pointed to a gas explosion inside the bar, but officials gave no definitive cause and said investigators would examine the site and interview witnesses.
The incident drew a large emergency response from Madrid’s municipal services including firefighting units, medical teams and civil protection officers. Drones were deployed to provide aerial support for the search and to assess damage to adjacent buildings.
Puente de Vallecas is a densely populated district in the south of Madrid. Explosions caused by gas leaks have in the past prompted broader safety reviews of installations in residential and commercial premises; authorities said they would follow established protocols as they investigate the cause and assess structural damage.
Madrid emergency services urged anyone with information or images that could assist investigators to contact local police. Further updates were expected as officials completed searches and assessments and as more detailed information about the victims’ conditions became available.