Train Derails; LPG Explodes

It's bad when all that LPG goes up at once:

At least 14 people have been killed and dozens injured in the explosion of a freight train carrying gas which derailed in northern Italy.

The carriages jumped the tracks and crashed into homes in the seaside town of Viareggio on Monday night.

Several of the victims died when their houses collapsed.

Firefighters are searching for people believed to be trapped. An investigation into the causes of the crash in under way.

...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.

...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."

...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.