Four dead in suspected gas leak explosion

Three firefighters and one civilian have died in a suspected gas leak explosion in an apartment building in Rome.

At least a score of people were injured in the blast, which was so strong it tossed parked cars into the air.

Rescuers are searching in heavy rain for a woman believed to be missing and any other possible additional victims nearly 12 hours after the explosion.

In one report, a RAI state television reporter at the scene said a young woman was pulled out alive from the rubble some 10 hours after the blast, but later said it could not confirm its own report, and authorities say they have no word about such a survivor.

The explosion on Via Ventotene, a narrow street lined with shops in north-east Rome, took place just minutes after firefighters arrived to check reports of a gas leak.

One fireman was killed immediately and two more died of their injuries shortly after the explosion.

The bodies of two civilians were later found in the wreckage, says Monica Aronica, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry, which includes state police.

One of the injured is a firefighter in a coma, she said.

Residents of the seven-story building first reported the smell of gas last night but a preliminary check turned up nothing. Police, firefighters and gas company workers were again dispatched after another rash of calls reporting the smell of gas.

Interior Minister Claudio Scajola, visiting some of the injured at a Rome hospital, says the explosion was caused by a gas leak. Gas leak blasts are not rare in Italy, where many homes and small businesses use gas for burners to provide heating or hot water as well as for cooking stoves.