BRUSSELS, July 30 (AFP) - Belgian authorities said Friday that 10 people were confirmed dead after an explosion in a high-pressure gas pipeline at an industrial estate near Ath, half-way between Brussels and Lille, and about 40 gravely injured.
Earlier reports spoke of 14 dead.
A spokesman for Health Minister Rudy Demotte said 97 people still were in hospital, many of them suffering serious burns. The spokesman earlier spoke of 200 injuries, but many casualties were allowed to return home after treatment.
Belgian King Albert II was scheduled to fly back from a foreign vacation to visit the region with Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt.
The state-run RTBF radio station said dozens of the injured, many with massive burns, were taken to an improvised holding centre before being ferried to specialist hospitals by helicopter.