According to local sources, the explosion of two freight trains in a station led to more than 161 fatalities, including 76 children, and at least 1,300 injured. The explosion was due to a collision, during a station manoeuvre (track switching) at around 1 pm, between a railtank belonging to a train transporting gasoline and 2 railcars filled each with 44 T of ammonium nitrate belonging to another train : the collision would have caused a transmission tower to fall, followed by a short circuit. The blast, estimated at 100 tons TNT equivalent, created a 15 meters deep crater. All buildings within a 500-m radius, including an elementary school, were razed and those within a 1500-m radius were heavily damaged. Some 2,000 apartments were destroyed, along with 129 public buildings, 40 % of the town’s area is destroyed. According to initial estimates, total damage amounted to €300 M.