Explosion kills eight in Italy

FOGGIA, Italy – An explosion leveled a two-story apartment building in southern Italy early Saturday, killing eight residents and injuring six others, and firefighters were investigating whether a gas leak was to blame.

Hours after the blast, rescuers digging through the rubble removed the last body, that of a 79-year-old man who lived in a basement apartment.

Fire Company Chief Vincenzo De Rosa, speaking by telephone from the scene, said the blast might have been caused by a gas leak, but it was too soon to tell. Earlier, state radio quoted authorities as saying a leak, possibly from a faulty gas canister, appeared to be the cause.

The explosion, which occurred just after 3 a.m., reduced the building to rubble, damaged cars parked nearby and hurled mattresses onto the street.

Residents of nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution.

The dead reportedly included an entire family – the parents and their two children – and three members of another family who lived in the building. At least six residents escaped with injuries, most of them slight, authorities said. The youngest victim reportedly was a 7-year-old boy.

In November 1999, 67 people died when a six-story apartment building in Foggia collapsed. Investigators concluded in early 2000 that shoddy construction caused the disaster.

Gas blasts are not uncommon in Italy, where many people use gas canisters instead of more expensive boilers for heating and cooking.