Italy: Naples house collapse kills mother and two kids

A two-story building collapsed in southern Italy's Naples province on Sunday, killing at least three members of the same family, local authorities said.

A mother, her 6-year-old son and her 4-year-old daughter were killed when the building collapsed. The father and a 2-year-old son were hospitalized after being rescued. The father was in critical condition, media reports suggested.

A woman believed to be the children's grandmother is thought to still be trapped under the rubble. Authorities said the search for her remained ongoing, although hopes of finding her alive were fading.

Fire department spokesman Luca Cari said earlier that rescuers had to be "very careful and move slowly, to avoid new collapses" as they conducted the search.

What do we know about the collapse?

The collapse is believed to have been due to a gas explosion, firefighters said.

Mayor Vincenzo Simonelli was at the scene and told reporters that the building appeared to be "crumpled up on itself," adding it was "a very serious situation."

Local media suggested that the explosion occurred on the second floor of the building, causing it to crumble down, covering the lower floor with rubble.

Witnesses said the explosion could be heard everywhere in the community of 15,000 inhabitants.

"It sounded like the bang when a plane breaks the sound barrier," a neighbor told the television station Rai. "But then we saw a cloud of dust rising and realized that it was the collapse of a house."

rmt/jsi (AP, dpa)