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Five die in Italian Riviera train-gas blast

  • Story Highlights
  • Train, carrying gas tanks, derails while passing through station in coastal town
  • Station and a few nearby buildings catch fire, are evacuated
  • Five fatalities are victims of a resulting building fire
  • The explosion happens near midnight local time
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(CNN) -- A gas explosion from a cargo train carrying fuel tanks killed at least five people and injured 35 others Monday night in a town in western Italy, a local government official said.

Flames engulf cars near the Viareggio railway station in western Italy on Monday.

Flames engulf cars near the Viareggio railway station in western Italy on Monday.

The train, traveling from La Spezia to Pisa, was carrying gas tanks and derailed while passing through the station in the coastal town of Viareggio, the official, Antonio Garufi, told CNN. The station and a few nearby buildings caught fire and were evacuated, he said.

The five fatalities were victims of a resulting building fire, Garufi said. The train operators were not injured.

The explosion happened at about 11:45 p.m. (5:45 p.m. ET).

CNN's Hada Messina in Rome contributed to this report

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