Boiler Explodes on Jurija Gagarina Street, Owner Burned
The call came in around 2 a.m., and firefighters reached the scene at 2:15. The fire was contained before they arrived, and the apartment owner suffered burns to his face and hands.
A water heater element exploded in the night between October 26 and 27, 2026, in a first-floor apartment of a residential building on Jurija Gagarina Street in New Belgrade. The apartment owner was injured and has burns to his face and hands. The Interior Ministry (MUP) confirmed to the Tanjug news agency that one person was hurt in the blast, Politika Online reported.
When did the call come in and who responded?
Sources differ on the exact time. According to what MUP and Telegraf reported, the call was received around 2 a.m. Blic, IndeksOnline and Press say it came in at 2:08 a.m. The gap is a matter of minutes and does not change the course of events. Euronews Serbia describes a powerful explosion, and Telegraf writes that firefighters arrived only a few minutes after the call.
Firefighter-rescue crews reached the scene at 2:15 a.m. Eight firefighter-rescuers from the Novi Beograd and Zemun units were sent with two vehicles. Telegraf gives the building number as 66, while the other sources mention only the street.
A fire broke out in the apartment after the explosion, but it was contained before the firefighters arrived. They stayed on the scene afterward to check whether any further danger remained.
What is known about the injured owner?
The injured man is the owner of the apartment, and his age has not been published. All sources report burns to his face and hands, and Euronews Serbia says he was rushed to hospital. No source says which hospital he was taken to or how serious his injuries are.
Blic carries the account of the injured man’s wife, who said the couple called the fire department as soon as they heard the explosion. She also told Blic that her husband was burned when he jumped up to put out the fire. IndeksOnline reports something similar: the owner suffered the burns while trying to extinguish the blaze.
What is still unknown?
The cause of the malfunction has not been announced. Sources say only that the water heater element exploded, without explaining why. In the statement relayed by Tanjug, MUP gave neither a cause nor the condition of the injured man.
It is also unclear how much damage the apartment suffered, or whether other residents of the building had to leave. None of the sources mention it. The injured man has not been named, and there is no information on his medical condition as of publication.
