At least eight people died this Saturday in a landslide on the island of Ischia, in southern Italy, sources from the emergency services confirmed to Efe, who warned that the death toll could increase.
The number of people of whom there is no news amounts to at least six, while in the area there are a hundred residents without electricity or water, explained the Ischia firefighters.
The Infrastructure Minister and Vice President, Matteo Salvini, also confirmed the provisional figure of eight deaths, while the ‘carabineros’ (militarized police) body opted for prudence and did not provide data on victims or injuries.
The island of Ischia, facing the Gulf of Naples, experienced tonight torrential rains that caused flooding and a serious landslide that violently dragged everything through the municipality of Casamicciola, in its northern part.
A part of a mountain gave way and hit several houses in the town, which are being searched with great effort and difficulty by emergency teams, reinforced with units from Naples and other places.
Among the missing are three members of a family, with a small child, and a 25-year-old foreign student, whose nationality has not yet been confirmed, according to local press.
All would supposedly be in the houses flooded by the mud, according to the same sources.
The first images coming from the island are of real chaos, with entire neighborhoods leveled by rocks and uprooted trees, cars buried in the mud and houses destroyed, with at least 20 buildings collapsed, says EFE.
Firefighter spokesman Luca Cari confirmed that several people had already been rescued from the mud, including a man and two other people whose vehicle was swept into the sea.
The president of Ischia, Enzo Ferrandino, asked the population not to leave their homes and lamented “serious damage” in the area.
“It is a tragedy. The number of missing persons in Casamicciola is still uncertain. Due to the bad weather on the island, we have many other critical situations,” he said.
Rescue teams are also trying to access the Terme Manzi hotel in Casamicciola, where some people still cannot get out and are without electricity.
The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, is in “constant contact” with the Minister of Civil Protection and Maritime Policies, Nello Musumeci, and with the regional authorities and has expressed her closeness to those affected, in a statement.
The island of Ischia is one of the main tourist destinations in Italy during the summer and is part of the Neapolitan archipelago, of volcanic origin and with steep slopes, which is why it often suffers from this type of landslide. The last time was in 2009.
Source: TSF
