The first two victims found were a man and a woman. The identities of the third and fourth victims have not yet been established.
An elderly woman has been rescued from one of the damaged buildings. She suffered minor injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital. A few hours later, a second woman was pulled alive from the rubble. They may be sisters or sisters-in-law.
Footage shows the street full of rubble and fires raging:
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One of the people who has not yet been found is a pregnant woman. Contrary to previous reports, no more children are missing. Emergency services from all over Sicily have come to the Ravanusa to help. Dogs are also being used to search for people under the rubble.
Ravanusa is located about halfway up the island, about half an hour’s drive from the south coast.
Completely destroyed
The people who are still missing were staying in the same building on Galileo Galilei Street in Ravanusa at the time of the explosion. That building was completely destroyed by the gas explosion.
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This was caused by gas accumulating in a closed room after a gas leak. What exactly caused it to explode will be investigated in the coming days, the fire chief told ANSA.
‘Roof came down’
“Suddenly the light went out and the roof came down,” said 80-year-old Rosa Carmina, who was rescued. She ended up under rubble and was found because she called for help.
“It looks like Beirut,” the head of the regional civil defense on the spot told Adnkronos, another Italian news agency.
The prosecutor has already launched a criminal investigation to determine whether people are to blame for the incident.
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