Axle may have caused Italian train blast

VIAREGGIO, Italy, July 1 (UPI) -- The death toll from a train explosion in western Italy rose to 17 and officials said Wednesday they feared more victims would be found.

Searchers looked for people who remained unaccounted for in Monday's disaster in Viareggio where the cargo train loaded with liquefied petroleum sprang a leak and derailed, CNN reported.

When the train derailed, fuel spilled onto the street, causing an explosion and starting a fire in nearby buildings, Italian news agency ANSA reported. Five buildings were destroyed.

ANSA, the italian news agency, said in addition to the 17 killed, 28 were hospitalized.

"I heard the explosion and I went out into the street to find myself faced with flames and a motionless, charred body lying on the ground," a witness told ANSA. "It was a terrifying scene which I will never forget. ... We couldn't do anything for the body except cover it up."

The train was traveling from La Spezia to Pisa when the explosion occurred in the Tuscan coastal community.

Transportation Minister Altero Matteoli has begun an investigation into the accident, looking into whether safety rules were violated or regulations were lacking.

Mauro Moretti, an Italian railway system spokesman, said the initial investigation suggested an axle that fell from one train into the path of another was responsible for the derailment.