Italy tanker blast kills 2 people, hurts 70

MILAN — A tanker truck carrying flammable material exploded Monday after rear-ending a stopped truck on a crowded highway near the northern Italian city of Bologna, killing at least two people, injuring up to 70 others and causing part of the raised expressway to collapse.

Italian police said between 60 and 70 people were injured, some with severe burns, during the midday accident on the highway north of the city. The paramilitary police said some officers were injured by flying glass when the explosion burst windows in a nearby barracks.

The Italian news agency ANSA reported that the truck was carrying liquefied petroleum gas but that officials said they could not confirm that.

A police video showed the tanker failing to brake 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, there was a second explosion, which 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.

The Italian television Sky TG24 said flames from the explosion set off secondary blasts in a new-car lot below.