ROMANIA – Romania starch factory explosion injures two workers

Two workers were injured in an explosion at a starch-processing facility in Medgidia, Constanța County, Romania, on 18 October 2026, prompting a response from emergency services.

Both workers sustained burns to their faces and upper limbs. They were transported to hospital by ambulance and emergency medical helicopter.

The county emergency inspectorate reported that the explosion occurred at a grain-storage bunker. A fire broke out following the blast, but factory employees extinguished it before firefighters arrived. Emergency services subsequently deployed firefighting appliances, medical teams and a specialist chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) response unit.

Police have opened a criminal investigation to establish the cause and circumstances of the incident. Investigators are considering a preliminary theory that gas may have accumulated at a starch filter, although this has not been confirmed as the cause of the explosion.

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