CHISINAU (Sputnik) — A criminal investigation was opened Saturday into a gas explosion in the center of Chisinau, in which 20 were injured, head of a district office of the Police Inspectorate of Chisinau Pavel Damaschin said.
The gas explosion shook a restaurant in the Moldovan capital earlier on Saturday. Four of the injured were reported to be in critical condition.
"The case was opened on two articles of the Criminal Code – the infliction of serious or moderate physical injury or other serious or moderate bodily harm through negligence and the violation of safety rules. The restaurant’s manager is giving testimony at the moment," Damaschin told RIA Novosti.
According to the Moldovan Interior Ministry's Emergency Situations Service, the explosion could have been caused by careless handling of a gas container in the building.