Explosions spark huge fire in Italian port
Explosions and an enormous fire ripped through the port area of the Italian city of Ancona early Wednesday, destroying warehouses and lorries, but there were no casualties, firefighters said.
The flames created vast mushroom clouds of smoke in the town on Italy's Adriatic coast.
The explosions sparked the fire soon after midnight. The blaze was under control Wednesday morning following the intervention of 16 firefighting teams, the fire service said on Twitter.
It had been not yet clear what caused the explosions.
Warehouses in the region were likely to have stored flammable liquid, according to Rai news, which said there was a company near by that produced liquid nitrogen, in addition to a power station and methane plant.
As the smell of burning filled Ancona, the administrative centre of the Marche region, the council said it had "temporarily ordered closed all schools, the university, the parks, open-air sports facilities."--AFP
