A Scottish holidaymaker is in a critical condition after surviving a gas explosion at a bed and breakfast in Rome’s Monteverde district. Grant Paterson, 54, from East Kilbride, suffered severe injuries with horrific burns as the three-storey building was reduced to rubble around 8.30am on Saturday. Named by the Italian media as one of the victims, Grant was rescued from the debris, awake yet with third degree burns across 75% of his body, and is now being treated at Sant’Eugenio hospital.

He had been documenting his holiday on social media, posting just days prior: “Arrived in Rome, trains planes, buses and foot… Accommodation is beautiful. This should be a good week…if I don’t get killed in some ungodly way”. Pictures from the site show the B&B destroyed, with mounds of rubble lining the street. The local authorities, including Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, have promised a thorough inquiry into the incident.

He noted: “The important thing is that fortunately there are no victims, although unfortunately one person was seriously injured. Most likely he is a guest of a hospitality facility, of Scottish origin.

“We don’t know his exact condition, but he suffered burns, and this also suggests that it was an explosion caused by gas, which also causes flames. It was a very loud explosion, a building collapsed and the wall of Villa Pamphilj was also damaged.”

Grant was reportedly staying at the bed and breakfast in the building, which was originally stables dating back to the early 1900s and later transformed into living spaces.

Local media sources said investigators need to determine what caused the explosion – whether it was due to a gas leak or a cylinder malfunction, and whether it started in the apartment where Grant was staying.

In response to the event, the building has been sealed off under police guard. Six apartments have also been evacuated, including one in a nearby condo that’s potentially in danger.

Gualtieri added: “We are carrying out surveys to evaluate and ascertain the regularity, as it currently appears, of the accommodation facility.

“For safety reasons, there are evacuations of the apartment buildings and buildings that may be at risk, and then there will be all the surveys”.

A representative from the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office commented: “We are providing support to the family of a British national who is currently in hospital in Rome.”