At least three dead, six missing after buildings collapse in Italy's Sicily
At least three people died in the collapse of several buildings following a gas explosion in the southern Italian town of Ravanusa, the Civil Protection Department in Sicily said on Sunday.
Six people were missing and two were found alive under the rubble of the building.
A priest who was celebrating mass near the buildings on Saturday evening said the houses were set alight after a natural gas pipe exploded in the town of 11,000 near Agrigento, the south-western Sicilian city famous for its Greek temples.
"We heard a loud bang, the doors flew open and the windows shattered", theآ archpriest of Ravanusa, Filippo Barbera, told Reuters.
"It is a huge tragedy...let's pray to ask God to avoid more deaths," he added.
Firemen were still digging in the rubble for the missing, including a young man.
The fire brigade said the gas leak seemed to come from the underground network of pipes in the area and not from a single source. The gas appeared to have accumulated in the area and may have been ignited by the use of the lift.
According to Carabinieri military police, the explosion damaged at least another five buildings in the center of town.
(Source: Reuters)
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