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At least one person was killed and 56 people were seriously injured after two trucks collided on a motorway in Bologna, the Evening Standard reports.

The crash, in the Borgo Panigale district of the north Italian city, sent a massive fireball billowing into the sky.

Italian media said a lorry carrying cars collided on a bridge with another tanker lorry containing inflammable materials.

Part of the bridge collapsed and the resulting explosion and fire spread to a car park below the bridge, where several other vehicles caught fire and exploded.

It has been reported 14 people suffered serious injuries. Some of them are said to have been hit by flying glass when windows in nearby buildings exploded.

​Videos filmed by motorists showed massive plumes of swirling smoke in the sky.

Bologna Police, which closed the motorway where the crash took place, said in a tweet: “Due to an accident on the Autostrada, an explosion occurred with the consequent fire at Via Marco Emilio Lepido.

"Circulation compromised, not only on the motorway, but also in the Borgo Panigale area.”

It has been reported the truck was carrying cars.

#bologna #esplosione #incidente pic.twitter.com/7im2fIhK61

— Carlo Piccinno (@PiccinnoCarlo) August 6, 2018

#bologna #esplosione video pic.twitter.com/TkuRNV2erJ

— Sparecchiavo.