Death toll rises to seven in Sicily gas leak blast

Firefighters and rescuers search for survivors following the explosion (Italian Firefighters Vigili del Fuoco via AP)

Rescue workers in Sicily have recovered four more bodies from the rubble of buildings that collapsed following a gas leak explosion, bringing the number of confirmed dead to seven, firefighters said.

Firefighters and civil protection agency volunteers used their bare hands to search for two more people believed to be buried inside the pile of collapsed concrete and metal, more than a day-and-a-half after the blast that authorities traced to a gas line.