Collapsed buildings after an explosion in Sicily: Three dead,…

Four people were killed earlier Sunday morning. But the local civil defense later said on its Facebook page that only three bodies had been found.

Rescuers are still searching for the missing dogs. This task is greatly complicated by the chaos, which according to TV images is huge, with charred and damaged buildings around it. It was not clear yet on Sunday morning how many buildings were damaged or collapsed. The first reports referred to an apartment building, but according to the website of the Sicily Regional Civil Protection Unit, there are four. Local media are talking about ten buildings. “Everything is very difficult because the buildings have collapsed and the rubble is intertwined,” Giuseppe Merendino was quoted by the newspaper “Jornal di Sicilia”.

Sicily’s civil defense said early this morning that two women could be saved. The sisters got away with some fractures.

The explosion occurred on Saturday evening, around 8:30 p.m., in Ravanosa, about 110 kilometers southeast of Palermo.

According to the fire service, it was a “very large gas leak” that occurred underground. Firefighter Giuseppe Merendino told Italian news agency ANSA that the explosion may have been caused by an elevator. We will continue to investigate what happened over the next few days. “Such an explosion is exceptional,” he said. A fire also broke out after the explosion.