Three dead, six missing after gas blast wrecks Sicily apartment block

Italian firefighters and rescuers search for survivors among the rubble of a collapsed building in Ravanusa, Sicily (Italian Firefighters Vigili del Fuoco/AP)

Firefighters in Sicily were digging through the rubble of a collapsed apartment building on Sunday in the search for six missing people after an explosion apparently caused by a gas leak killed at least three, authorities said.

The building was occupied by nine members of an extended family, and two visiting relatives – a heavily pregnant woman and her husband – were also on the premises when the explosion happened in the town of Ravanusa late on Saturday, firefighters said.