A serious incident shocked the city of Elbasan this Wednesday, when a powerful explosion in a five-story building in the “Beqir Dardha” neighborhood had tragic consequences. An elderly woman lost her life, while a 69-year-old man is still missing. Ten other residents were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. The fire started in an apartment on the third floor of the building, owned by a person who has not currently been located. The flames spread rapidly throughout the apartment, also coming out through the balcony and the window of the bedroom.
The explosion and the fire caused considerable damage to the building, while the situation triggered panic among residents, who tried to leave the building as quickly as possible. Amid the moments of terror, one of the residents said how he managed to save his mother and his wife, rushing into the apartment immediately after the explosion.
“I heard the noise and ran with my friend. I went into the house, grabbed the old woman and got her out very quickly. I also took my daughter-in-law and got her out through the other door,” he recounted. The resident said his desire to help others was hindered by the thick smoke that had filled the building’s interior. “I wanted to save the others too, but there was so much black smoke that I could not get in,” he said. He added that his mother is currently in hospital, having had blood pressure problems after the incident, while his wife fortunately was not injured.
The mayor of Elbasan, Gledian Llatja, said the explosion caused serious damage to the building’s structure. According to him, part of the building has collapsed, making one of its sectors uninhabitable. “Damage to the building’s structure has been observed. We had a collapse of the fourth floor, which fell onto the third floor, as well as the staircases connecting the third floor with the fourth and fifth,” Llatja stated.
The mayor also confirmed the tragic toll of the incident, announcing that an elderly woman had lost her life, while a 69-year-old man remains missing. “An 83-year-old elderly woman lost her life on the fifth floor, and a 69-year-old man has not been found. Ten people were brought to hospital for medical assistance, with no risk to their lives,” he said.
As for the cause of the explosion, preliminary suspicions focus on a gas cylinder in the apartment where the fire started, but the final cause is expected to be determined by the authorities’ expert examination. The building is old, constructed with silicate bricks, and even after interventions carried out over the years, it continued to have structural problems.