It has emerged that the Italian train derailment tragedy might have been a lot worse. Just after the derailment, a railway official managed to alert two packed passenger trains due to come through the station.

Senior members of the government, including the Prime Minister, have visited the scene of the inferno. Silvio Berlusconi said: “It’s a catastrophe and is very disturbing, given the sequence of events. We have already transported the most seriously injured to the best hospitals. A child has been transferred to Rome and I’m going to return there to take charge of things.” Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes and many people are counting themselves lucky today. One man said: “I woke up and opened the window and was overwhelmed by a wave of heat. My wife told me to close it quickly. We went downstairs and at the door was someone on fire.” Another man said: “When the gas tank exploded, I thought it was a bomb. I was scared and went outside. There were lots of police and people on the scene.” Some reports say the problem was not with the railway track, but with the wagon that derailed, which took several other carriages with it.More about: Accident, Italy, Transport

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