Los Alfaques disaster

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The Los Alfaques disaster was caused by the explosion of a road tanker near a holiday campsite on 11 July 1978 in Alcanar, Spain. The exploding tanker, which was carrying 23 tons of highly flammable liquefied propylene, killed 215 people and severely burned 200 more, 178 of those killed were French. Several individuals from the company that owned the vehicle were prosecuted for criminal negligence. The disaster resulted in new legislation in Spain, restricting the transit of vehicles carrying dangerous cargo through populated areas to night time only. Most of the victims were on holiday from France and some other European countries, and who were staying at the Los Alfaques seaside campground. The site, which is located at km 159 on the N-340 national road, is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the town of Sant Carles de la Ràpita.

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