Firefighters say the blast in the southern town of Ravanusa was probably caused by a gas leak Four people have been killed and five are missing in Sicily after an explosion caused a four-storey apartment building to collapse Two women were recovered alive from the rubble in the southern town of Ravanusa on Saturday night and rescuers and sniffer dogs were searching for other people still missing The local unit of Italy’s civil protection service said on its Twitter feed that the death toll stood at four Television images showed a mass of rubble and wooden beams where the apartment block once stood and neighbouring buildings charred and damaged Authorities said a gas leak was the probably cause of the explosion and that an investigation had been opened “The gas probably found a cavity in which to accumulate,” the head of firefighters in the province of Agrigento “This pocket of gas would then have found an accidental trigger – a car appealed on Facebook for “everyone available who has shovels and bulldozers” He said about 50 people had been displaced from neighbouring buildings damaged in the explosion A suspected gas explosion tore through four residential buildings on Saturday evening in the southern town of Ravanusa with one survivor describing it "as if a bomb had gone off." A flower is seen amongst the rubble at the site of a gas explosion that caused several houses to collapse in Ravanusa Around 100 emergency workers have been picking their way through the rubble ever since in what firefighters said was a "delicate and complex" operation Members of a rescue team work at the scene of a gas explosion in a residential building Rescuers work at the site of a gas explosion that caused several houses to collapse in Ravanusa This handout picture taken and released by the Italian Firefighters (Vigili del Fuoco) on Dec shows firefighters searching rubble after a four-story apartment building collapsed on Dec Members of a rescue team work at the scene where a four-story building collapsed following a gas explosion People gather as members of a rescue team search for victims in the aftermath of a gas explosion in a residential building A rescue team searches for missing residents after a four-story building collapsed following a gas explosion Members of a rescue team search for victims in the aftermath of a gas explosion in a residential building Security tape is set up at the scene where a four-story building collapsed following a gas explosion A relative sits after several buildings collapsed following a gas explosion Pope Francis expressed his grief and assured his closeness to citizens of Ravanusa a Sicilian town where several buildings collapsed last Saturday due to a blast caused by a suspected gas leak sent on his behalf by Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin the Pope asked Archbishop Alessandro Damiano of the Archdiocese of Agrigento to which Ravenusa belongs to be the spokesman of his “heartfelt closeness” to the population The death toll from the blast has risen to seven and search and rescue operations are ongoing with two people still missing The explosion demolished four houses and damaged another three the Pope said he conveys his condolences to the relatives of the deceased and expresses feelings of intense participation in the grief of the entire population He says he “bears in his heart the suffering of so many people and assures his prayers in suffrage for the victims." he expresses appreciation and gratitude for those who have participated in the search and rescue operations as well as for the extraordinary collection launched by the Archdiocese in support of the community Investigators have hypothesized an accumulation of a large quantity of gas beneath the ground notwithstanding a 2014 report pointing to serious risk situations in the area Thank you for reading our article. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to our daily newsletter. Just click here It said its emergency service had received no reports of gas leaks last week.Ravanusa is a town of about 11,000 people near the southwestern Sicilian city of Agrigento which is famous for its Greek temples.Mayor Carmelo D'Angelo said he would spare no effort to rebuild the wrecked homes as soon as possible."There are families who have unfortunately lost everything .. even their belongings," he said.Additional reporting by Giulia Segreti and Angelo Amante in Rome; Editing by Crispian Balmer Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved