Death toll rises to 16 in Italy's train explosion


www.chinaview.cn 2009-06-30 21:50:24 Print

ROME, June 30 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 people were killed and 36 others injured in northern Italy when a freight train carrying liquefied petroleum gas derailed and exploded just before midnight Monday, local health authorities said Tuesday.

Three children were among the dead and the death toll could rise further as rescuers searched through the rubble of nearby buildings badly destroyed by the blast, the ANSA news agency reported.

Health director Giancarlo Sassoli said 14 of the 36 injured were in serious condition.

Some 1,000 people were evacuated after the blast in the northern Italian town of Viareggio, about 350 km north of Rome.

The train traveling from the northern city of La Spezia to Pisa exploded as it jumped the rails near the station at Viareggio, sweeping the streets with fire and knocking down buildings as people slept.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has visited the scene and the government is set to report to parliament on Wednesday on the accident.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, speaking at the scene, said public prosecutors and the public works ministry had opened investigations.

Maroni said either European Union rules regarding the transport of dangerous substances "were inadequate" or that they "had not been respected."

The chief of state railway operator Ferrovie dello Stato, Mauro Moretti, said earlier that he ruled out human error at this stage of the investigation.

"From preliminary evidence the drivers did not make mistakes," he said, adding that the derailment could have been caused by the malfunction of an axle on the first train car.


Editor: Wang Guanqun