Italy's motorway inferno kills 2, injures over 60

World
Europe

01:01

At least two people were killed and over 60 more were injured when a tanker truck exploded into a huge fireball on a highway in northern Italy on Monday, causing part of a bridge to collapse.

The incident near Bologna occurred when the tanker truck, which contained flammable materials, slammed into the back of a lorry that had come to a halt because of heavy traffic, and caught fire.

Video released by the police showed another lorry crashing into the back of the blazing tanker.

The massive explosion, which could be heard throughout the city, filled the area with flames and black smoke and created a huge hole in the flyover, causing it to collapse onto another road below.

The fire then spread to a car dealership below and several other vehicles burst into flames.

"The shockwave from the blast was extremely violent. Many of the injured received cuts from flying glass," said Giovanni Carella, the emergency coordinator for the local fire service.

A witness at a nearby restaurant, Marco Rosadini, told Italian daily La Repubblica he heard a violent blast and thought it was a terror attack.

"After the explosion the roof of the restaurant started to collapse. I looked outside and I felt like I was looking at a wall of fire."

The Italian fire service said the number of dead was likely to rise.

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters