Blast kills seven in Italian city

An explosion levelled a two-story apartment building in the southern Italian city of Foggia this morning, killing at least seven people and injuring another six, authorities said.

Hours after the blast, rescuers were still searching through the rubble for a 79-year-old man who lived in a basement apartment.

Fire Company Chief Vincenzo De Rosa said the blast might have been caused by a gas leak, but said it was too soon to tell. Earlier, state radio quoted authorities as saying that a gas leak, possibly from a faulty gas canister, appeared to be the cause.

The explosion, which occurred just after 2am Irish time, turned the building into a pile of rubble.

Mattresses hurled by the force of the blast landed in the street, where some parked cars were heavily damaged. Residents of nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution.

The dead reportedly included an entire family – the parents and their two children – and three members of another family who lived in the building.

At least six residents escaped with injuries, most of them slight, authorities said.

In November 1999, 67 people perished when a six-storey apartment building in Foggia collapsed.

An investigation concluded in early 2000 that shoddy construction caused the disaster.

Gas blasts are not uncommon in Italy, where many people use gas canisters instead of more expensive boilers for heating and cooking.