A huge blast near a school in Milan has set multiple cars ablaze in a fireball captured in harrowing footage.
The fire in the Porta Romana area of the northern Italian city started from a truck full of oxygen gas cylinders, the Milan mayor told local media.
A local school was evacuated following the explosion in Via Pier Lombardo and all children are said to be unharmed.
Images and videos from the scene show huge flames coming from the cars and plumes of dark smoke rising from a narrow street.
At least one person has been injured in the incident which saw four cars and a number of mopeds go up in flames. No deaths have been reported.
The fire also spread to the first and second floor of a nearby building, as well as a pharmacy.
Firefighters rushed to the scene this morning, with police closing nearby roads as emergency services work to tackle the blaze.
According to Italian firefighters and Carabinieri, the explosion may have been caused by a technical problem within the van.
Clips shared on social media showed crowds spilling out onto nearby streets, with several people filming the scene on their mobile phones.
Giuseppe Sala, the mayor of Milan, said police are ruling out arson or any attack.
He said the fire appears to have been caused by the van transporting oxygen cylinders and added that the driver appears to have been injured in the incident.
Mr Sala explained: "It's a van carrying oxygen gas cylinders. I've been told of a seriously injured person, who I believe is the driver, but there are no other damages. I'm going to see now."
He added that despite his injuries, the driver is not in a life-threatening condition.
According to Rai News, the van driver suffered a hand burn and is being taken to the hospital for further health checks.
A local resident told the Italian news agency Ansa that he heard an explosion, with his car and moped on fire.
He said: "I live here, I lost my motorbike and car which burned down, I entered the building to get my cats but there was too much smoke."
A woman who lives on the third floor of a nearby building said she saw the sky become dark and saw flames go as high as her window.
She said she left the home with her husband and added that firefighters arrived around 25 minutes later.
The local resident added that some children from the nearby school were crying.
