The manager of a pub in the centre of Barcelona was severely hurt and three others slightly injured in an explosion and subsequent fire in the pub, the city's fire services reported on Tuesday.
The manager was in hospital under police guard, the deputy mayor, Albert Batlle, said.
Allegations of negligence on the part of the owner of the pub in Barcelona's Eixample district have in the past been made to police.
Days before the blast, an injunction closing down the pub, which lies close to Barcelona's well-known La Rambla pedestrian thoroughfare, had been issued, Batlle said.
🚒Els #BombersBCN hem intervingut en una explosió al carrer de València, 73. Al lloc dels fets s'hi han desplaçat 13 dotacions.
4 persones han estat traslladades a un centre hospitalari, de les quals una en estat greu, dues menys greus i una altra lleu. pic.twitter.com/Jja4pSusB4— Bombers Barcelona (@BCN_Bombers) April 12, 2022
The explosion took place shortly before 4 am (local time).
Evacuated through the roof
The ensuing fire took hold in the flats above the pub, with some 15 occupants being evacuated via the rooftop.
The occupants of a further six buildings were also taken to safety.
They were later allowed to return to their homes, while the worst-affected building remained cordoned off.
