Gas blast in Sao Paulo kills one, damages 10 homes

A gas blast tore through a residential block in Jaguaré on São Paulo’s west side, killing a 45-year-old man, injuring three people and damaging at least 46 properties in a neighborhood where homes sit close together and damage spread fast.

The explosion and fire struck around 4:10 p.m. on May 11, 2026, on Rua Floresto Bandecchi near Rua Dr. Benedito de Moraes, about 16 kilometers from the city center. Firefighters found the victim under the rubble, while two conscious injured people were taken to the Pronto-Socorro Regional de Osasco with polytrauma. A Sabesp worker also went to a hospital on his own. Local images showed shattered roofs, twisted debris and a heavy plume of smoke rising over the block.

Corpo de Bombeiros sent 12 fire trucks to the scene and deployed search dogs to check for anyone else trapped beneath the wreckage. The area was isolated because of the risk of a gas leak, and Defesa Civil teams were sent in to assess nearby homes. Firefighters later said the gas leak had been shut off and there was no longer a risk of another explosion.

The immediate question for investigators is whether the blast came from a utility-work accident, a leaking line or another ignition source. Initial reporting linked the explosion to a Sabesp waterworks job that struck a gas pipeline, and Polícia Militar information pointed to Sabesp crews working in the area when the blast happened. G1 later corrected an earlier attribution to Comgás, saying the original official information had been wrong. Sabesp said the work at the site was a water-pipe relocation job that had been coordinated with the gas concessionaire. Comgás and Sabesp later issued a joint statement mourning the death and expressing solidarity with the victims.

The scale of the destruction underscored how vulnerable dense urban neighborhoods can be when utility systems fail. G1 said at least 46 properties were affected and 10 were totally destroyed. Reuters reported damage to around 10 homes, while other accounts put the number of damaged properties lower, showing how quickly the toll was still being counted as crews moved through the block. Even with the fire contained, residents faced the wider fallout of a sudden infrastructure failure: displaced families, unsafe structures, inspection needs and the prospect of repairs that may take far longer than the explosion itself.