Italians killed as train explodes ...................

(LEO)--At least 16 people have been killed and dozens injured after a freight train carrying gas derailed and exploded in northern Italy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8125675.stm

The wagons jumped the tracks and crashed into several homes, setting off an inferno in the seaside town of Viareggio in the middle of the night.
Several of the victims died when their houses collapsed and there are fears other may be trapped in rubble.
Officials have warned there is a risk that other gas tanks could explode.
"We are still carrying out the emergency operation and trying to ensure the safety of the area," said Guido Bertolaso, head of Italy's civil protection agency.
Mr Betalaso said firefighters were now focusing on finding people believed to be trapped in collapsed or damaged buildings in the area.
But he said 13 carriages, each carrying a tank of liquefied petroleum gas, were still lying on or by the tracks.
"The area is still at a really high risk level because the fire is still smouldering," he said.
The BBC's Emma Wallis in Viareggio said there is a wide exclusion zone in place and police have warned there could be further evacuations.

'Terrifying explosion'

The explosion happened shortly before midnight local time (2300 BST) when one wagon in the 14-car train carrying liquefied petroleum gas from La Spezia to Pisa came off the tracks before ploughing into several homes near the station in Viareggio.
"It was a derailment that caused the explosion of one of the rail cars filled with liquefied natural gas. It was a very strong explosion," Viareggio Mayor Luca Lunardini said.
"Two buildings collapsed and burned down, there are others in a serious condition," he said.
A senior firefighter, Antonio Gambardella, said the force of the blast had turned cars onto their sides.
"The gas spread out among the nearest houses before exploding," he told AFP.
One witness described the scene as "apocalyptic ".
"A young man with a child jumped out of a window to save themselves - a scene I hope never to re-live because I was really afraid," he told Reuters.
"People just couldn't do anything because with fire there is just nothing you can do, but we somehow managed to survive without any injury."
Another witness, Penny Firth, told the BBC: "The explosion was terrifying. The whole sky turned orange and there was a huge mass of dense smoke, we could feel the heat intensify. It is just awful... the smell is horrible."
Several of the victims, including at least one child, died when their houses collapsed with the force of the blast. At least two other people are thought to have been killed on the road next to the station.
Many of the injured suffered severe burns.
Officials said they had not been able to immediately identify all the bodies because of the extent of their injuries.

'Miracle' escape

Some 300 firefighters from all over Tuscany fought the blaze during the night. About 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes.
Rescue workers are still searching the gutted remains of many buildings for five people reported missing. Three children were pulled alive from their burnt homes just before dawn.

The Civil Protection Department called in specialist teams with equipment for dealing with nuclear, biological and chemical threats.
The main railway line along the Italian Riviera, which runs through densely populated towns built between the mountains and the sea, remains blocked, reports the BBC's David Willey in Rome.

An official inquiry into the causes of the accident has already begun.

Police say the incident may have been caused by damage to the tracks or a problem with the train's braking system. Railway unions are blaming old and obsolete rolling stock, our correspondent says.

The train's two engineers, who were only slightly injured, said they felt an impact about 200m (650ft) outside the station, shortly before the rear of the train derailed, officials say.

One of them said it was "a miracle" that he managed to escape after his cabin filled with the liquid gas.

Liquefied petroleum gas is a mixture of propane and butane that is used for cooking or as fuel for specially-adapted vehicles.