British tourist seriously injured after Rome explosion

A British tourist has been left seriously injured after a suspected gas explosion destroyed a three-storey B&B in Rome.

Grant Paterson, 54, from East Kilbride in South Lanarkshire, has reportedly been left severely burned after the explosion in the Monteverde area of the Italian city on Sunday morning.

Mr Paterson was pulled out of the ruins by firefighters and is currently undergoing treatment at Sant'Eugenio Hospital.

Sky News was told by officials Mr Paterson has suffered third degree burns to at least 70% of his body and is in a critical condition.

A witness at the scene said Mr Paterson was screaming under the collapsed building before being saved by the emergency crew.

A neighbour reported the explosion made his house windows shake, while another witness thought it had been a bomb or an earthquake.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it is supporting Mr Paterson's family and is in contact with the local authorities.

It is understood Mr Paterson arrived in Rome on 17 March and was due to return home on Monday.

Social media posts show he had visited famous tourist hot spots such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon before the incident.

He wrote he had arrived in Rome, adding: "Accommodation is beautiful.

"This should be a good week... if I don't get killed in some ungodly way."

Read more from Sky News:
Gisele Pelicot's son relives moment he discovered his father was a monster
Turkey protesters met with tear gas and rubber bullets

The B&B, named Mamma Roma, was on Via Vitellia in the busy neighbourhood of Monteverde, in the southwest part of Rome.

Flying debris from the explosion, which occurred around 8.40am, damaged several cars and part of the wall of Villa Doria Pamphili - a seventeenth-century villa which also serves as the representative seat of the Italian government.

More than a dozen people were evacuated and are currently unable to return to their homes.

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri told Sky News efforts are being made to find a solution.

Rome's Public Prosecutors' Offices has opened a probe into the case. At the moment it is a suspected gas leak.

The mayor earlier visited the scene and told reporters he had ordered a full investigation into the explosion.

Mr Gualtieri said: "The important thing is that fortunately there are no victims, although unfortunately one person was seriously injured.

"Most likely he is a guest of a hospitality facility, of Scottish origin.

"We don't know his exact condition, but he suffered burns, and this also suggests that it was an explosion caused by gas, which also causes flames.

"It was a very loud explosion, a building collapsed and the wall of Villa Pamphili was also damaged."