Death toll rises to 7 in Italian power station explosion

The final two victims of an explosion at an Italian power station were found on Friday, bringing the total death toll to seven, the country's Fire Department said, reported Xinhua.

Meanwhile, five people were injured, and two remain in hospital with serious burns.

The explosion happened on Tuesday at the Bargi hydroelectric power station on Lake Suviana in the Apennine Mountains, some 70 km south of Bologna.

All those affected by the explosion were employees of the plant, which was undergoing maintenance work, according to the managing company Enel Green Power.

Rescue teams including firefighters, scuba divers, and civic protection staff have been working in aftermath of the explosion, which happened on the eighth underground floor, over 30 meters deep. Rescue operations in these difficult conditions have been ongoing for 24 hours.

"The context in which we have been working was very complex, considering that there was a (structural) collapse following the explosion," Fire Dept. scuba driver team chief Giuseppe Petrone told a press conference on Friday.

The last two victims were found on the ninth floor underground, he added.

The causes of the explosion have yet to be ascertained. Prosecutors in Bologna have opened a probe into the incident on charges of disaster and involuntary manslaughter.

Three people were killed and three others remain missing following an explosion at a power station in northern Italy, local government said on April 9.