(ANSA) - Bologna, August 7 - The Bologna health authority said Tuesday that 145 people were injured in Monday's fatal accident on a highway in the city.

The authority said four of those people were seriously hurt and are being treated burns centres in Cesena and Parma, adding that none were in a life-threatening condition. Another 18 people were admitted to Bologna's Maggiore hospital were less serious injuries.

The accident claimed the life of the driver of the truck carrying liquid petroleum gas that crashed into a lorry in front of it, causing an explosion an a huge fire.

</s>An explosion erupted on a highway near the Bologna airport in northern Italy after a tanker truck carrying flammable material burst into flames, according to the Associated Press.

The blast killed at least two people and injured about 70 others. People suffered burns from the fire and wounds from glass that went flying when windows in the vicinity shattered and a nearby bridge partially collapsed, the AP added.

Footage of the explosion, which occurred at around 2:00 p.m. local time, shows extremely heavy smoke leading into a massive ball of fire. ANSA, a leading news agency in Italy, reported that the truck had liquefied petroleum gas on board.

Italian firefighters, including the urban search and rescue team, were on the scene. Police closed the highway and other nearby roads. Firefighters tweeted videos showing the aftermath.

The airport tweeted that flights were continuing as scheduled: “Huge #explosion on the #Bologna motorway, #Bologna airport is not involved, flights are running regularly.” The airport warned travelers that traffic meant that they should “leave your houses/hotels earlier than planned.”</s>One person has died and more than 40 others injured after a tanker truck exploded in Bologna, Italy. The blast caused part of a motorway bridge to collapse, with several people wounded by debris and shattered glass, according to Italian media</s>The driver of a tanker truck that exploded sending a fireball across a busy motorway in Bologna was killed in the crash and 145 others injured, the Italian government said Tuesday.

The driver, Andrea Anzolin, who was transporting hazardous material, lost his life in the fiery accident Monday afternoon on the road to Bologna airport in northern Italy.

"The initial reconstruction of the event suggests that the incident was caused by the driver of the vehicle that was carrying liquified petroleum gas," Danilo Toninelli, minister for infrastructure and transport, told Italy's Senate Tuesday.

Toninelli added that of the 145 injured, 11 were military police officers at a nearby barracks.

The explosion -- which Toninelli says came four minutes after the tanker crashed into a lorry and burst into flames -- and searing heat from the blaze caused a section of the flyover where the crash took place to collapse onto another road below, leaving a huge crater.

"Given the dynamics of the accident and the potential consequences, we can say that we were lucky," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said after meeting with the injured in Bologna on Tuesday.

The drivers of the two lorries involved in the crash were both hurt, but Toninelli did not comment on the extent of their injuries.

Italian media described Anzolin as an "expert driver" who had worked for many years in the transportation of flammable materials.

The prosecutor investigating the accident, Giuseppe Amato, told state broadcaster RAI that he believed it could have been caused by Anzolin dozing off at the wheel, but that it was "too early to say so with any certainty".

A video released by the police on Monday shows the tanker ploughing into the back of a lorry, not slowing down as it crashed into the trailer before immediately catching fire.

Another lorry then thumped into the back of the blazing tanker as traffic screeched to a halt.

The three vehicles, covered by a blanket of smoke on an evacuated motorway, were reduced to little more than ash by the massive explosion that swept across the motorway and could be heard throughout the city.

Toninelli said that he wanted to reduce the number of vehicles transporting hazardous materials by road -- which he estimates to be around 35,000 -- and encourage the installation on those vehicles of technology that "reduces (the effects) of human error as much as possible".

"It can be found fairly commonly in new cars, and cannot not be equipped on these heavy goods vehicles that in every moment risk becoming moving bombs."</s>At least two people have been killed with up to 70 others injured after a truck transporting flammable substances exploded following a traffic accident.

The crash, which occurred on a motorway near Bologna in Italy, sent a fireball into the sky and left a bridge partially collapsed.

The incident happened on a stretch of road between Borgo Panigale and Casalecchio near Bologna Airport shortly before 2pm on Monday.

Some people were reportedly hit by flying glass as windows shattered in nearby buildings.</s>Dramatic footage shows the moment a huge fireball shot into the sky after a fuel tanker and a lorry crashed on a motorway.

At least two people were killed and up to 70 injured - 14 of them seriously - in the horror incident on a bridge near Bologna, Italy .

The powerful blast destroyed part of the bridge and ripped the tanker in two before the burning wreckage crashed onto several cars below.

The moment it erupted near Bologna Airport was caught by a driver who had been filming the aftermath of the crash just a few metres away.

Plumes of thick black smoke can be seen coming from the crash site where several vehicles are backed-up nearby.

Suddenly the tanker bursts into flames, with the impact shaking the car and leaving the driver clearly scared for their life as they jerk backwards in shock.

The tanker erupted moments after crashing into a car transporter in Borgo Panigale at 2pm local time (1pm BST) in the north Italian region.

A massive plume of smoke was visible for miles as emergency services rushed to the scene to treat the injured and extinguish the inferno.

After the tanker collapsed off the bridge the blaze spread to several cars that are believed to belong to Peugeot and Citroen.

The vehicles then also exploded, smashing out windows and sending debris flying into passersby leaving several people hurt.

Scores of people were also forced to flee their homes as firefighters battled to get the fire under control, reports Ansa .

Authorities said the intensity of the heat made it difficult for crews to put out the blaze, but they managed to get it under control after three hours.

Among the injured are also eleven military police officers and two road officers who had been directing traffic after a previous road accident, reports Repubblica .</s>Footage of a massive explosion on an Italian motorway is making headlines after two trucks collided and a tanker exploded on impact. The explosion shook the Bologna airport and caused a bridge to partially collapse.

Dramatic footage of the explosion made its rounds on social media, showing an enormous fireball in the sky and smoke rising over the airport in the north of the country following the crash. The Italian news agency ANSA reported the truck was carrying liquefied petroleum gas but officials said they could not confirm that.

According to the Daily Mail, officers said the blast could be “felt in the busy terminal and was caused by an accident on the nearby motorway.”

Marco Granna, a spokesman for the local health agency in Bologna, told CNN that 55 people were taken to the hospital for treatment of first-, second- and third-degree burns. At least two of the injured are police officers, the Italian highway patrol told CNN.

A police video shows the tanker plowing into the rear of a truck after failing to brake. Another truck appears to hit the back of the tanker from behind, and within a few minutes the tanker explodes, spanning eight lanes of highway and the parking lot beneath the bridge. Luckily, most of the traffic had cleared away from the incident before the truck exploded.

A woman living a short distance from the blast site said many residents had to leave due to the black smoke, according to CBS.

“I was in the house and I heard a huge bang and screams from the window. I saw a huge plume of smoke,” Crisina Felicani told Sky TG24. “There was panic in the neighborhood, because it wasn’t clear what happened.”

According to the Daily Mail, police have closed off the motorway and the surrounding area while first responders clean up the remnants of the accident. The blaze spread to the parking lot below the bridge, damaging several cars, according to the Daily Mail.

Italian firefighters tweeted that they’ve sent multiple rescue and emergency squads, including one from their urban search and rescue team. Italian private Sky TG24 also reported that some of the injured people had been hit by flying glass when windows in nearby buildings exploded.

“Authorities said the accident closed down a major interchange connecting highways linking northern Italy with the Adriatic coast, a popular destination as Italy heads into next week’s peak summer holiday travel period,” CBS reported.

In a tweet, the national fire brigade said it had deployed a helicopter to help with reconnaissance. Several hours after the explosion, firefighters said they had extinguished the flames, ANSA reported.

ANSA reported a similar incident that happened a short distance away, when a van collided with a truck and overturned, killing 12 farm workers from the Puglia region of Italy. Another accident happened last Saturday when a truck hauling tomatoes crashed into a van and four migrant workers died.

This is a developing story. Heavy will continue to update as more information is known.</s>ROME: At least one person was killed and more than 60 others injured on Monday (Aug 6) when a tanker truck crashed into a lorry and exploded, sending a fireball across a busy motorway in the northern Italian city of Bologna.

The blast, which occurred in the early afternoon in the Borgo Panigale area, close to Bologna airport, caused a partial collapse of the flyover, where the explosion took place, onto another road below, filling the scene with flames and black smoke.

A video released by the police shows the moment the tanker ploughed into the back of the lorry, immediately catching fire as another lorry crashed into the back of the blazing tanker, and oncoming traffic screeched to a halt.

The three vehicles, covered by the blanketing smoke, were reduced to little more than ash by a massive explosion that swept across the motorway and could be heard throughout the city.

"I was here (at a nearby restaurant) for work ... at a certain point we heard a violent blast, i thought it was a terrorist attack," Marco Rosadini, whose car is trapped under the flyover, told the daily La Repubblica.

"After the explosion the roof of the restaurant started to collapse. I looked outside and I felt like I was looking at a wall of fire."

It took firefighters nearly two hours to extinguish the fireball, which spread to vehicles parked in a nearby lot of a car dealership.

Then rescuers began the delicate task of looking through the burned out debris to find any victims.

Italian media quoted the Bologna prefecture as saying that two people had been killed, but when asked for confirmation by AFP, a spokeswoman said that the official toll remained one dead, with 68 injured.

However, the Italian fire service told AFP that the number of dead is likely to rise.

Most of the injured suffered burns with police and firefighters among the most seriously hurt.

Others were injured by pieces of flying debris and glass the explosion caused in the surrounding area.

Speaking to television news channel Sky TG24, police officers said that the extremely high temperatures from the fire and the blast caused the road to collapse.

Fears of a terrorist attack still rattle Bologna which just last week marked the anniversary of a far-right attack on the train station that left 85 people dead and more than 200 wounded in 1980.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said more than 100 firefighters had responded to the fiery accident, and the prosecutor has opened an inquiry.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Facebook that he would go to Bologna on Tuesday to show the government's solidarity with the victims and their families.</s>A tanker truck ploughed into a lorry on a motorway near Bologna airport in northern Italy on Monday, exploding in flames and sending a huge ball of fire and black smoke into the sky.

At least two people were killed and more than 60 injured, according to local authorities.

Police closed off the road where the crash took place as well as the surrounding area of Borgo Panigale, on the outskirts of the city of Bologna.

Video of the incident showed the tanker truck, which contained inflammable materials, slamming into the back of a lorry which had come to a halt because of heavy traffic.

The tanker immediately caught fire and then exploded, causing part of a road bridge to collapse. The fire spread to a car dealership below and several other vehicles burst into flames.

“The shockwave from the blast was extremely violent. Many of the injured received cuts from flying glass, which had shattered,” said Giovanni Carella, the emergency co-ordinator for the local fire service.

He said he thought the tanker had probably been carrying liquid petroleum gas.

A video shot from a parked car appeared to show someone being engulfed by flames when the tanker exploded.

In a separate incident on Monday, 12 migrant labourers died in the southern Italian region of Puglia when the van they were travelling in smashed into a lorry.–Reuters</s>A motorway has partially collapsed after a fuel tanker crashed into the back of a lorry carrying vans on a motorway close to Bologna Airport.

An initial blast was followed shortly by a series of explosions that grew in ferocity.

Emergency workers are feared dead or badly injured after they were swallowed by one of the larger explosions in the Italian city.

Cars in a Peugeot dealership underneath the motorway were also set on fire and buildings nearby were damaged in the blasts.

Dramatic footage from the scene taken by a motorist driving towards the explosion shows a significant blast before he reverses away from the scene.

Emergency workers can be seen close to one of the biggest explosions but have no time to move out of the way.

Local police said that there had been a collision on the motorway and an explosion happened in the subsequent fire.

Witnesses and local reports suggest that a car transporter was involved in the crash.

A picture from closer to the scene shows cars at a Peugeot dealership in flames along with a flyover running alongside the business.

Other witnesses reported a vehicle, possibly a lorry, crashing through the wall and landing on the Peugeot garage.

This video was taken by someone who lives close to the scene and whose terrace has been damaged by the blasts.

Roads around the area have been closed and there is no word of any casualties at this moment.

Police said in a statement on Twitter: ‘Due to an accident on the highway, an explosion occurred resulting in a fire at Via Marco Emilio Lepido. Circulation compromised, not only on the motorway, but also in the Borgo Panigale area.’

Images on social media show the explosion occurred on a road close to the airport.
A fuel tanker explodes on the A14 motorway after colliding with a lorry near Bologna Airport in Italy, causing a section of the motorway to collapse. A person dies and 145 others are injured, at least 14 seriously.