The death toll from Monday night's gas train explosion in Viareggio has risen to 16 and may rise further, the local health authority said Tuesday.
Three of the dead are children.
''It was an apocalypse from the human and health standpoint,'' said health director Giancarlo Sassoli, adding that 14 of the 36 injured are in serious condition.
''Doctors and nurses had to deal with a night like something out of Dante's Inferno,'' he said.
Premier Silvio Berlusconi is travelling to the scene and the government is set to report to parliament on Wednesday.
The train carrying liquid gas exploded as it came off the rails near the station in this Tuscan seaside resort, sweeping streets with fire and knocking down buildings.
The causes of the accident are not yet known but human error has been ruled out.
