Elbasan apartment explosion death toll rises to two as 69-year-old found under rubble; police suspect gas leak

A powerful explosion in a five-storey apartment building in Elbasan, central Albania, on the afternoon of November 4 has killed two people. Police said the body of 69-year-old Hamit Ibro, owner of the third-floor flat where the blast began, was found under the rubble at about 00:40 on November 5, and 82-year-old Hatixhe Berisha died at the scene. Ten other residents were injured and were treated in hospital before being discharged. (Cover photo: the scene of the explosion. Photo credit: Tv Klan.)

Third-floor blast and fire; fourth floor collapsed onto the third

The explosion happened at about 2:45 p.m. local time on November 4, on the third floor of the five-storey building in the Qemal Stafa neighbourhood of Elbasan. Kastriot Skënderaj, director of the Elbasan police, said the blast was so powerful that the fourth floor collapsed onto the third, and the fire that started on the third floor spread to other floors; the building's structure was severely damaged and it is now uninhabitable. Firefighters evacuated residents and extinguished the flames, while police, the Armed Forces, civil emergencies and fire services searched through the night.

Police suspect gas build-up; exact cause still to be determined

Elbasan police said on November 5 that preliminary investigations suggest the explosion and the fire that followed were caused by an excessive build-up of gas in the 69-year-old's flat; a strong smell of gas was reported inside the building and a gas cylinder was found in the garage. The investigation is led by the Elbasan Prosecutor's Office, working with engineering experts from the RENEA special forces, and the exact cause and full sequence of events are still to be established. Elbasan mayor Gledian Llatja also visited the scene.

(Sources: Elbasan Police statement, November 5, 2026; Tv Klan, November 5, 2026; Altmedia, November 5, 2026.)