At least 14 dead in a crash between a passenger train and a freight train in a fog-bound area near Italian northern city Bologna on Friday. (Xinhua photo)

The death toll in a crash between a passenger train and a freight train in a fog-bound area near Italian northern city Bologna on Friday has risen to at least 14, Italian rescue workers said.

The crash took place in the countryside of Bolognina di Crevalcore, some 25 kilometres north of Bologna, and involved a passenger train travelling from Verona to Bologna and a freight train.

The freight train was carrying a load of steel beams which rammed into the passenger train when it derailed, rail officials said.

The passenger train was carrying 100 people, including some tourists.

Rescue workers and 200 firemen said that three of the injured were in extremely critical condition.

"The carriages are all piled up on each other. As firemen are making their way through the tangled wreckage, they are finding more corpses and injured people, some of them critically," a policeman told reporters.

Some 50 people who reported slight injuries were given immediate first aid on the spot and then taken to the town of Crevalcore.

Two rescue helicopters were unable to land because of the thick fog, Italian officials said.

The passenger train was three minutes behind schedule, Italian rail officials noted.

Italian Transport Minister Pietro Lunardi has already named a committee of experts to determine the cause of the accident and is expected to inspect the area personally later on Friday.

Source: Xinhua