At least 14 people were killed and 34 others injured in northern Italy when a freight train carrying liquefied petroleum gas derailed and exploded around midnight, officials said Tuesday.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors or dead bodies in the rubbles of the nearby buildings badly destroyed by the blast, the ANSA news agency reported.

Among the 34 injured, 16 are in serious condition, ANSA said.

Some 1,000 people were evacuated after the blast happened in the Tuscan seaside town of Viareggio, about 350 km north of Rome.

The explosion occurred when the train bound to Pisa derailed as it was moving close to the station of the coastal city, heavily damaging two nearby buildings.

Local media reports said the death toll could rise further.

(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2009)