Livorno, March 28 - Two workers were killed and another was seriously injured in the explosion of a fuel tank at Livorno's industrial port on Wednesday. The tank contained ethyl acetate. The accident happened inside the Costiero Nero depot at the port, sources said. According to an initial reconstruction the workers were doing maintenance work and the tank had been emptied. The two dead workers, from the Livorno-based Labromare company, were working outside the tank. The area was evacuated. </s> FLORENCE, Italy (REUTERS) - An explosion at an industrial cistern in the Tuscan port of Livorno, one of Italy's biggest passenger and commercial harbours, killed two people on Wednesday (March 28), an official said.

The two men had been doing maintenance on the storage tank when the blast occurred, the port authority official said.

It had contained ethyl acetate, a combustible liquid, la Repubblica newspaper's website said.

Commercial and passenger services in Livorno were not likely to be affected, the port authority official said. </s> FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - An explosion at an industrial cistern in the Tuscan port of Livorno, one of Italy’s biggest passenger and commercial harbors, killed two people on Wednesday, an official said.

The two men had been doing maintenance on the storage tank when the blast occurred, the port authority official said.

Photographs posted online showed a large metal cistern partially crumpled and leaning sideways. It had contained ethyl acetate, a combustible liquid, la Repubblica newspaper’s web site said.

Commercial and passenger services in Livorno were not likely to be affected, the port authority official said. </s> Livorno, March 28 - Two workers were killed and another was seriously injured in the explosion of a fuel tank at Livorno's industrial port on Wednesday. Sources said there may be more injured workers. The accident happened inside the Costiero Nero depot at the port, sources said. According to an initial reconstruction the workers were doing maintenance work and the tank had been emptied. </s> Emergency services rushed to the scene following the blast, which took place shortly after 2 pm.

According to La Repubblica, the explosion was loud enough to be heard in several parts of Livorno.

The area around the tank was evacuated and teams of firefighters were on hand, though no fire was reported. The area was secured within a couple of hours.

Photos from the scene show the tank keeling over after the blast.

Mi sto precipitando a #Livorno da #Firenze, viste le tragiche notizie che arrivano dal porto, dove una violenta esplosione ha distrutto una cisterna e provocato, pare, morti e feriti pic.twitter.com/dFg89gRIYi — Filippo Nogarin (@nogarin) March 28, 2018

An image shared by the mayor of Livorno, Filippo Nogarin, who visited the port after the blast.

The shore tank, which was located in the Neri industrial depot specialized in the storage of liquids, is said to have contained the flammable substance ethyl acetate.

The two men killed are believed to have been carrying out maintenance near the unit, which had reportedly been emptied.

According to reports, they were employees of local environmental services company Labromare, one aged 52 and the other 25.

One victim died instantly, while the other was still alive when emergency services arrived but could not be resuscitated, Repubblica said.



The Neri depot is north of the passenger terminal where cruise ships dock. Image: Google Maps

The mayor of Livorno, Filippo Nogarin, visited the port hours after the incident, which he called an "immense tragedy".

"How much longer does the list of victims and workplace tragedies need to get before we manage to do something," he said, calling for a full investigation into the explosion.

Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni also expressed his condolences to the families of those killed and his solidarity with Livorno, Nogarin said. </s> Florence, March 28 - Several workers are said to have been injured after a fuel tank exploded at Livorno's industrial port on Wednesday, according to witnesses. Firefighters and ambulance crews are on the scene. The area of the fuel-oil deposit has been completely evacuated, sources said. </s> Two people died and 15 others were injured Wednesday after a fuel tanker exploded at a gas station in central Italy, according to the country's firefighting service.

The incident happened at around 2.30 pm local time in the province of Rieti, Lazio region, when a fuel tanker resupplying a gas station exploded, provoking an enormous fireball. </s> Two people have died in a huge explosion at a gas station in Italy.

Among the victims was a firefighter, the fire brigade in the town of Fara in Sabina near Rome tweeted on Wednesday.

At least 17 people have been injured, according to news agency ANSA.

A tanker caught fire for unknown reasons. The force of the resulting explosion had catapulted a tanker and a vehicle from the fire brigade several meters, the newspaper La Repubblica reported.

The site of the explosion is located about 50 kilometres north-east of Rome in the province of Rieti.

"The situation is under control," Fara in Sabina Mayor Davide Basilicata wrote in the early evening on Facebook.

The site of the accident was still inaccessible and traffic was being redirected. </s> MILAN — A tanker truck carrying a highly flammable gas exploded Monday after rear-ending a stopped truck on a crowded highway near the northern Italian city of Bologna. At least two people were killed, up to 70 injured and part of the raised expressway collapsed in the fireball.

Police said the accident and subsequent fire and explosion left some of the injured with severe burns. It also shut down a highway that is a key route between northern Italy and the Adriatic Coast and other points south, including Florence and Rome, the capital.

A police video showed the tanker failing to slow down quick enough and plowing into the rear of a truck stopped in traffic, with flames exploding on impact. Another truck appeared to hit the tanker from behind. After an unspecified time lapse, during which the highway was cleared of most other vehicles, the truck erupted in a second, enormous explosion that spanned eight lanes of the highway and beyond.

Flames shot up into the air, followed by a thick black cloud of smoke. Aerial photos showed a gaping hole left in the raised highway. TV images hours after the flames were doused showed the burned-out skeletons of hulking tractor trailers.

Italian prosecutors said the tanker was filled with liquefied petroleum gas, otherwise known as propane, used as a fuel in heaters, cooking equipment and vehicles.

Firefighters said the extreme heat of the flames caused the raised roadway to collapse, sending a heat explosion that incinerated dozens of automobiles on new car lots nearby.

In a separate vehicle accident in the southern Italian region of Puglia, 12 farm workers were killed Monday when the van they were traveling in collided with a truck and overturned, ANSA reported.

The accident was similar to one on Saturday, when a truck laden with tomatoes crashed into a van and four migrants died.

Colleen Barry is an Associated Press writer.
A tank containing ethyl acetate explodes in a port in Livorno, Italy, killing two people.