Two dead, 9 injured, 4 missing in blast at Eni site near Florence

Florence: Two people died, nine were injured and four were missing after an explosion on Monday at a fuel storage facility owned by Italian energy group Eni near Florence, local authorities said.

The explosion occurred in Calenzano on the northern outskirts of the Tuscan capital in a loading area but did not affect the site's fuel storage facilities, an ENI spokesman said.

"All of Tuscany is united in grief for the tragedy that happened today in Calenzano," regional president Eugenio Giani wrote on social media.

Firefighters said the fire had been put out, while Italy's Civil Protection agency urged the local population to stay away from the site and stay indoors.

The fire produced a thick column of smoke, visible from a distance. Experts from the Regional Environment Protection Agency were on site to assess any potential environmental damage, including on waterways, Giani said.