Two people were killed and dozens injured as an oil tanker truck exploded on a highway overpass on a ring road exploded on a ring road on the outskirts of Italy's northcentral city of Bologna, ANSA news agency reported Monday.
An officer at the Bologna prefecture who declined to be named told Xinhua that 67 people suffered burns or injuries from flying glass and debris, of whom two are in critical condition.
She would not confirm whether two people have died, but confirmed that the truck exploded after a collision on an overhead pass on the ring road near Borgo Panigale on the outskirts of Bologna.
A series of explosions followed as the blaze spread to cars in nearby dealerships. State police posted a video on Twitter showing a road with an enormous blackened crater left by the explosion.
"Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) nucleus and canine units sent to site," firefighters tweeted at 3 pm local time, along with an aerial video showing a massive column of black smoke billowing over an outlying area of Bologna. Helicopter reconnaissance flight ongoing."
A member of the local Civil Protection Agency who also declined to give her name told Xinhua that "we know people have been injured and ambulances are on site."
Sky TG24 showed a photo of the partially collapsed overpass while RAI News 24 public broadcaster ran a video taken from a car on the ring road, showing a violent explosion, towering flames and billowing smoke.
La Repubblica paper described "an apocalyptic scenario" as a truck "probably transporting flammable material" crashed and caught fire. "A column of fire and black smoke is visible from half the city," the paper reported. A firefighter helicopter is trying to douse the flames with water from a nearby river, the paper said.
