Dozen die as Sicily struck by flooding

ITALIAN ISLAND HIT BY STORMS

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.

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

Across the island, in the town of Cammarata, near Agrigento, the fire department said divers were working to recover the bodies of two people swept away while driving on a road near the flooded Saraceno River.

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

Agrigento, famed for the ruins of ancient temples, is a popular tourist destination.

Elsewhere in Sicily, at least two other people were missing after floodwaters swept away their cars, including a doctor heading to the hospital in the hill town of Corleone.

Other storms had battered northern Italy earlier in the week, killing at least 15 people.