8 dead as landslide rips through town on southern Italy island

Rome, Nov 26 (EFE).- At least eight people died and six were missing after a landslide struck the southern Italian island of Ischia, local emergency services told Efe Saturday.

Ischia, in the Gulf of Naples, was drenched by heavy rain overnight, which sparked flooding and a dangerous landslide that swept through houses in the town of Casamicciola.

Among the missing are three members of the same family and a 25-year-old foreign student, local media reported.

Images from the island show streets clogged with boulders, trees and mud as well as dozens of damaged buildings.

Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni said she was in “constant contact” with the authorities and expressed her “closeness” to those affected.

The local mayor, Enzo Ferrandino, said the island had witnessed a “tragedy” and asked the public to remain in their homes.

The volcanic island of Ischia is a popular tourist destination in the summer. Its steep hillsides are prone to landslides. EFE

gsm/jt