1 dead, 12 missing in Italian landslide

MILAN — Heavy rainfall triggered a landslide early Saturday on the southern Italian resort island of Ischia that destroyed buildings and swept parked cars into the sea, leaving at least one person dead and up to 12 missing.

The body of a woman was pulled from the mud, the Naples prefect, Claudio Palomba, told a news conference.

With raining continuing to fall, firefighters and coast guard rescuers were working with small bulldozers to pick through some 6 to 7 yards of mud and detritus in the search for possible victims. Reinforcements arrived by ferry, including teams of sniffer dogs to help the search efforts.

The force of the mud sliding down the mountainside just before dawn was strong enough to send cars and buses onto beaches and into the sea at the port of Casamicciola, on the north end of the island, which lies off Naples.

The island received nearly 5 inches of rain in six hours, the heaviest rainfall in 20 years, according to officials.

At least 100 people were reported stranded without electricity and water, and about 70 were housed in a community gymnasium.

ANSA reported that at least 10 buildings had collapsed.

(AP/Salvatore Laporta) Flooded and mud-covered houses are seen after heavy rainfall triggered landslides that collapsed buildings and left as many as 12 people missing Saturday in Casamicciola on the southern Italian island of Ischia.