Vienna  - A German company defended Monday its maintenance work on the axle of a railway tanker car which broke and set off a fireball, killing at least 22 people last week in an Italian coastal town.

The axle had been 35 years old, but there were no standards requiring old axles to be taken out of service, said the Jungenthal Waggon GmbH company of Hanover, Germany.

The axle had been originally made in 1974 in communist East Germany. The Hanover company reconditioned the axle and running gear in November 2008 and installed it in the tanker in February this year.

The death toll from the fire near the rail station in the town of Viareggio rose to 22 on Friday.

The statement was issued in Vienna by the Hanover's company's parent, GATX.

It said the running gear had been given rigorous checks including an ultrasound scan after the reconditioning work, and added there was no binding European expiry date for railway axles.

It said axles of similar age were in routine use and were considered safe by railway engineers provided they received regular maintenance.

Alberto Chiovelli, head of Italy's railway safety authority ASNF, was quoted Friday saying that the wagon in March had been last checked by a repair firm, Cima Riparazioni in Mantua, in March.(dpa)