Torrential rain and flooding leaves at least 12 dead in Italy

AT least 12 people have been killed after storms lashed Sicily, causing torrential floods. Divers pulled out nine bodies from a home flooded by a rapidly swelling river in the countryside near Palermo.

State TV broadcaster RaiNews24 said the sole survivor of the flood that ravaged the home with water and mud was the owner, who had just stepped outside to walk the family dogs on Saturday when the torrent struck.

News reports said the man at first clung to a tree, then ended up on the roof of a nearby house.

He used his mobile phone to call for help but it was too late for the others, who included a one-year-old baby, a three-year-old child and a teenager. The victims were from two families who had gathered in the country villa for the weekend.

A man’s body was also found on a guardrail along a Palermo road after floodwaters swept away his car, according to reports.

In Agrigento province, firefighters rescued 14 people from a hotel in the town of Montevago, which was threatened by floodwaters.

At least two other people are missing after floodwaters swept away their cars, including a doctor heading to the hospital in Corleone.