Freight Train Derails In Coastal Viareggio Italy

According to UPI at least 15 people died and more than 40 people were injured when a train carrying gas tanks derailed and exploded in Viareggio, which is located in northern Italy's Tuscan region, officials said. Nearly 40 people were injured, many of them seriously burnt. Flames engulfed houses and the force of the explosion caused at least two buildings to collapse into rubble.

The rear of the train ploughed into houses next to Viareggio's train station, setting fire to a vast area, reports The Telegraph.

A local government official told CNN the train was traveling from La Spezia to Pisa when the explosion occurred. Viareggio is just northwest of Pisa.

Italy’s civil protection agency said search and rescue operations in Viareggio are going on amid fire fighting. The area is sealed off. Four rail cars are off the tracks on their sides. LNG escaped from one of the derailed cars and caught fire, causing the explosion, according to Italy’s state railways.

According to the Journal of Commerce GATX Rail Europe owns the railcars involved in the accident. The subsidiary of U.S. - based GATX told Reuters it did not know the cause of the explosion and was gathering information.

Videos uploaded onto YouTube showed a huge plume of fire and smoke towering above Viareggio's low houses. An inferno raged through the night, consuming buildings and cars, while the sound of sirens and explosions pierced the air. TV images showed residents, their bodies blackened by the smoke, being carried away on stretchers.