BRUSSELS, Aug 2 (AFP) - Belgium will hold a national day of mourning Wednesday for the victims of one of the worst industrial disasters in its history, officials said Monday.
At least 17 people, including five firemen and one police officer, were killed on Friday when a high-pressure gas pipeline exploded at an industrial estate in the southern town of Ath.
King Albert II and Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt -- who cut short a holiday in Italy after the blast -- will attend funerals for local victims and a memorial service in Ath on Wednesday, a government spokesman said.
Beyond Ath, flags on official buildings across Belgium will fly at half-mast, while any public festivals and sporting events are likely to be cancelled.
Three French nationals and three Italians were among the dead, officials confirmed Monday.
The disaster caused 133 injuries, of whom 63 were still hospitalised Sunday night including many in burn units.
The official inquiry will have to decide whether there was a problem with the pipeline itself, such as corrosion or a faulty weld, or whether external factors were involved.
The Belgian press Monday drew a possible link between the explosion and recent digging work to create a car park and access roads at the site of the Diamant Boart company on the industrial estate.
But an official with Diamant Boart, a subsidiary of Swedish group Electrolux, said the works had ended six weeks ago and had been supervised throughout by the Belgian agency in charge of natural gas transportation.
The investigating judge in charge of the inquiry, Gerard Bresoux, said authorities would be able to determine what caused the explosion "quite quickly", but that apportioning responsibility could take years.