Four people have been killed and five more are missing after a four-storey apartment building collapsed in the Sicilian town of Ravanusa, according to a new report from local authorities.
An earlier report had put the death toll at two and seven missing.
Rescuers, with the help of specially trained dogs, located two women alive in the rubble. Investigations are continuing to locate the missing, Civil Protection wrote on Twitter.
According to this source, the dead amount to four.
Television images showed a mountain of debris and beams on the ground. Neighboring buildings have also been damaged by the blast.
The tragedy, which took place last Saturday night, seems to be due to an explosion in a gas pipeline, the authorities pointed out, adding that an investigation has been launched into the incident.
“Gas may have accumulated in a cavity. “An accidental catalyst – a car, an electrical appliance, an elevator – may have subsequently caused this gas pocket to explode,” Agrigento fire chief Giuseppe Meredino told Rainews 2.
After the explosion, the mayor of Ravausa, Carmelo d’Angelo, appealed via Facebook “to those who have shovels and bulldozers”. “This is a disaster,” he said.
About 50 people have been forced to flee their homes, he told Rainews24.
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