Former judge Cristi Danileț sounds the alarm after the tragedy that occurred in October 2025 at a block of flats on Calea Rahovei in Bucharest, where two people died and 13 were injured. The magistrate says the situation is not new, but repeats a decades-old pattern – explosions caused by unmaintained public gas networks.
The former judge sounded the alarm PHOTO Inquam Photos / George Călin
“In 2010, I judged the case of the deflagration in Zalău, when a building exploded due to repeated and massive gas leaks – there were deaths, injuries, the loss of life expectancy of all tenants and the complete destruction of the housing block. Then, during the hearings, one of the defendants who held a management position at the gas company told me “Romania is sitting on a bomb””Danileț wrote on his blog.
According to the former magistrate, the gas distribution companies would be obliged, through the privatization contracts, to replace thousands of kilometers of pipelines annually, but, due to lack of funds, they only make occasional repairs – “patches” – instead of systematic substitutions.
Similar cases
Danileț has inventoried dozens of similar cases, from the last three decades, in which explosions were caused by cracks, corrosion or negligence in the maintenance of pipes. Among the worst:
Călăraşi (2003) – 7 dead, dozens injured, two floors of the block destroyed;
Craiova (2006) – 2 dead, 1,000 apartments damaged;
Zalău (2007) – 2 dead, 8 injured, block demolished;
Iasi (2016) – 2 dead, 11 injured, decommissioned building;
Bucharest (2025) – 2 dead, 13 injured, block demolished after the explosion.
Call for investment in infrastructure
“An explosion occurs when the concentration of methane gas in the air reaches the level of 9.5% in the room and is triggered by a spark. The gas does not smell – if there is not enough mercaptan in the installation, gas leaks are not detected by smell, but they generate dizziness and nausea”Danileț also said.
The former judge warns that without urgent investments in gas infrastructure, tragedies like the one in Rahova will be repeated, while criminal liability remains usually limited to suspended sentences.
“The events of 2025 show that without urgent investment in infrastructure and without a culture of safety, such dramas are repeatable”Danileț concluded.
