Horror as brother and sister aged 4 and 6 die after building collapses in Italy

22 September 2024, 15:26

Emergency services attend the site of a building collapse in Saviano, Italy, Sunday Sept, 22, 2024
Emergency services attend the site of a building collapse in Saviano, Italy, Sunday Sept, 22, 2024. Picture: Alamy

By Charlie Duffield

A two-story building has collapsed in the southern Italian province of Naples, killing two young siblings and burying their mother and another woman in the rubble, firefighters have said.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

The firefighters said on their official Telegram channel that a gas explosion likely caused the collapse.

Rescuers in the town of Saviano recovered the bodies of a 6-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl.

Their 2-year-old brother was found alive and the father was hospitalized in Naples in serious condition.

Firefighers’ spokesman Luca Cari said that rescuers had to be “very careful and move slowly, to avoid new collapses” as they searched for the two women.

Read More: Lebanon 'is at war with Israel', health minister tells LBC as he shares 'fears of 'full-blown regional conflict'

Read More: 'We will get Britain building', Angela Rayner pledges, as deputy PM opens Labour party conference

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

Media reports said a gas leak could have caused the explosion that rocked the second floor of the building, which crumbled down, covering the lower floor with rubble.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

The drugs were hidden in his wheelchair

Cocaine haul worth £1 million found hidden inside electric wheelchair during Manchester Airport security check

Betty Webb

'Exceptional' Bletchley Park codebreaker Betty Webb dies at 101

The girl entered the river close to Barge House Causeway, near London City Airport. (stock image)

Missing girl, 11, who 'fell in River Thames while paddling' named - as search continues

Jason, 36, was due to fly home from his holiday in Alicante on Saturday

Brit who vanished on stag do after leaving Spanish airport found as family join search

Virginia Giuffre

Family of Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre hit out at Australian cops over doubts she has 'days to live'

Exclusive
Donald Trump is using tariffs to fight the culture war, Roy Stewart says

Trump is 'using Tariffs to fight a culture war against Europe,' says Rory Stewart as UK faces prospect of 25% levies

Two men have been found guilty of murder after beating a DPD driver Aurman Singh armed with weapons including an axe, golf club and piece of wood.

Shocking moment DPD driver in Shrewsbury is brutally beaten to death caught on camera

Rebel energy goes bust.

Energy firm Rebel Energy goes bust, leaving 80,000 customers without a supplier

Dramatic moment police swoop on prolific shoplifters mid-way through London Co-Op raid

Moment police swoop on prolific shoplifters mid-way through frantic raid on Co-op store

Luigi Mangione is facing the death penalty for the shooting of United healthcare CEO Brian Thompson

US prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Luigi Mangione in healthcare boss murder case

Birmingham bin strikes have been on going since January 2025

Birmingham bin strike: Why are they striking and why have they declared a major incident?

Emergency services at the scene after an explosion at a building thought to be a gas leak, in Via Pio Foà and Via Vitellia, in Rome, Sunday, March 23, 2025.

Scottish tourist dies after sustaining severe burns in Rome gas explosion that destroyed three-storey hotel

Sainsbury's supermarket recalls chocolate bar.

Major supermarket urgently recalls chocolate bar over fears it contains 'fragments of metal'

s

Man 'carrying gun' shot dead after 'half hour stand-off' with police at railway station

The couple said they had previously been banned from entering Cowley Hill Primary School, in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

Police chief defends arresting parents in school WhatsApp row but says it could have been ‘lower key’

c

Houses destroyed after tractor pulling farm slurry smashes into street