Crews search for possible missing people after Italian Alps mudslide

(LaPresse/AP)

Rescuers in the Italian Alps are searching for any possible missing people after a mountain stream burst its banks following heavy rain and caused a mudslide.

The streets of Bardonecchia, a town near Turin in the Val di Susa mountain valley, were coated in thick grey mud following the mudslide late on Sunday.

A car in Bardonecchia, northern Italy, is covered in mud after heavy storms caused a mountain stream to burst its banks and triggered a mudslide (LaPresse/AP)

One witness video showed a huge wave of dirt and debris toppling a gate and residents running away as the muck rushed down a street, and others showed thick mud coursing through the river banks that pass through the town.

Fire service spokesman Luca Cari told Sky TV24 that rescue crews had no reports of missing people but were nevertheless carrying out searches of homes and cars that were along the mudslide’s route.

He said crews had rescued six people from an overturned camper overnight.

An excavator removes mud and debris in Bardonecchia in the Italian Alps (LaPresse/AP)

Bardonecchia, located at 4,265ft (1,300m), is a popular destination for both winter mountain sports and summer hiking, and several streams, creeks and tributaries feed into it including the Frejus, Melezet and Rochemolles.

On Sunday, the town of 3,000 residents was celebrating its patron feast day, St Hipolito, with activities and games taking place, and planned fireworks at night, according to the local tourism agency.