Nine wounded, one of whom in serious condition, are the toll of a fire following an explosion that took place last night in a 5-star hotel in Avelengo, the Mirabell hotel in South Tyrol.
With burns all over his body, the hotel keeper, a 49-year-old Ukrainian, was transported by helicopter to the hospital in Bolzano and then transferred to the major burns ward in Padua.
The other injured - Italians, Swiss, Austrians and Albanians - are not serious and were taken to hospital in Merano with symptoms of smoke poisoning.
The accident occurred while the caretaker - it is learned - was recharging a bioethanol stove in a suite on the top floor of the hotel.
After the explosion, the room caught fire within seconds.
About one hundred volunteer firefighters from the area, the White Cross, the police and the Aiut Alpin Dolomites and Pelikan helicopters intervened.
The stake was put out in a timely manner.
