(Updated with cause of explosion and more details)
An explosion occurred Monday morning in a fuel storage facility belonging to the Italian energy group Eni in Calenzano, near Florence, leaving at least two dead, nine injured and three missing, the municipality announced.
“All of Tuscany is united in pain after the tragedy that happened today,” Tuscany region president Eugenio Giani said in a message on social media.
Regional health authorities indicated that the vital prognosis of three of the injured was serious.
The explosion occurred in an area where trucks load fuel destined for gas stations. Other depots located nearby were not affected.
According to initial findings, a cloud of fuel vapor exploded, causing a fire and the collapse of a building on the site, Monia Monni, regional minister of Civil Protection, told reporters.
Prosecutors in the neighboring town of Prato said they would open an investigation to determine criminal liability for the accident, adding that police, forensic doctors and technical advisers were already involved.
In a statement, Eni expressed its condolences to the families of the victims and others impacted by the accident, and indicated that it was fully cooperating with the judicial authorities.
The unions have called for a thorough investigation.
(Reporting by Silvia Ognibene, Claudia Cristoferi and Francesca Landini, written by Gianluca Semeraro and Alvise Armellini, French version by Noémie Naudin and Mara Vîlcu, edited by Sophie Louet and Kate Entringer)
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