Eight people have been injured, two of them seriously, after a gas deflagration occurred – for reasons under investigation – in Plaça de Sants. The explosion happened at the access to the metro station, which is currently under construction to complete the accessibility of line L5.
The accident occurred hours after workers detected a gas leak at 2:40 PM in the vicinity of Sants Metro L5 station. Apparently, a pipe was affected during the work. Nine units of the Barcelona Fire Department along with gas company operators moved to the scene and initiated protocols to stop the leak, seemingly with success.
Hours later, while attempting to repair the gas pipe, the explosion occurred at 10:50 PM. Eight workers, all men, were injured by the deflagration.
🔴 Closure information:
Gas deflagration at the Metro works. Plaça de Sants, Barcelona.
8 people affected, all men.
– 2 affected, serious, transferred to Vall d’Hebron Hospital
– 2 affected, less serious, transferred to Vall d’Hebron Hospital
– 1 affected,… https://t.co/BSyUqNW6qW— SEM. Generalitat (@semgencat) July 22, 2026
Two of those affected were seriously injured and another two less seriously injured were transferred to Vall d’Hebron hospital. Another less seriously injured person and three with minor injuries were evacuated to Hospital Clínic.
The deflagration resulted in a spectacular fire. Several units of the Barcelona Fire Department moved to Plaça de Sants to extinguish the flame, which continued to burn almost two hours after it started and will take hours to put out due to the amount of accumulated gas.
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Clara la Torre, head of the Barcelona Fire Department on duty, stated to the media: “The gas flow will not stop until the work is completed. We do not know what caused the deflagration, but until we manage to stop the gas, we will not be able to extinguish the flame. Until then, we will keep it under control and facilitate the work at the points where the gas technicians need to work.” The Fire Department has asked residents near the fire not to go out onto their balconies: “Although the flame is spectacular, it is necessary to avoid putting oneself at risk.”
The Medical Emergency System has activated eight ambulances and deployed an advanced center at the scene. The Urban Guard has cordoned off the area and cut off traffic on Sants street.
As a result of the incident, the Procicat pre-alert was also activated, Catalonia’s emergency plan designed to manage risk situations.
The Metro has only closed the Galileo street access, but both line 1 and line 5 have continued to operate. If the fire has not been extinguished when service begins this Thursday, TMB has already warned that bus lines will be diverted.
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An investigation has been opened to clarify what happened.
