Four members of a family, including two young children, lost their lives in a tragic gas explosion that partially destroyed their two-storey home in Saviano, a town near Naples in southern Italy.
The blast resulted in the deaths of the siblings—a boy and a girl—along with their mother and grandmother.
The family’s father and a newborn baby were found alive in the debris by Italian firefighters and immediately taken to the hospital.
According to local media, the father is in serious condition at a Naples hospital, while the baby’s injuries are not life-threatening.
The Vigili del Fuoco, Italy’s fire service, stated that the family, comprising the parents and three children, resided on one level of the house, while the grandmother occupied the upper floor.
“Firefighters recovered the father and a newborn baby alive, entrusting them to the care of the health workers on site, while they could do nothing for the two children, a boy and a girl, whose bodies were unfortunately recovered lifeless,” the Vigili del Fuoco confirmed in a statement.
Though officials have not released the ages of the children, reports indicated they were four and six years old.
The explosion, which occurred around 07:00 local time (06:00 BST), led to a day-long search operation. Firefighters found the children and their father in the morning, but it wasn’t until 16:45 that they located the mother’s body amid the rubble.
A spokesperson for the firefighters, Luca Cari, told reporters that rescuers had to proceed cautiously to prevent further collapses, as they navigated the unstable remains of the building.
“We had to be very careful and move slowly, to avoid new collapses,” he explained, as reported by the Associated Press.
The search for the grandmother extended into the night, with sniffer dogs aiding the rescue teams. She was eventually found, and the search concluded at 01:00.
Authorities are still investigating the precise cause of the explosion, though initial assessments suggest it was a gas leak that triggered the building’s collapse.
Over 60 civil protection volunteers participated in the rescue operation, according to a post from the Campania regional authority on Facebook.
Dramatic images shared by the fire service captured rescuers working tirelessly through the night to sift through the rubble.
Drone footage of the devastated scene revealed significant damage to the building, with two large holes visible in the roof, underscoring the blast’s destructive force.
