Seven dead as rescuers find bodies in Sicily blast

Italian rescuers pulled four bodies from collapsed buildings in Sicily on Monday after a suspected gas explosion.

At least seven people have now died after the blast destroyed four residential buildings on Saturday evening in the Sicilian town of Ravanusa.

Firefighters say they are continuing to search the rubble for two people still said to be missing.

Another 100 people have had to leave their homes because of the explosion.

Authorities said four houses had collapsed and another three were damaged during the blast, which was heard as far as four miles (6km) away.

Among the bodies pulled from the rubble in the early hours of Monday was Selene Pascariello, a 30-year-old nurse who was nine-months pregnant.

She was found along with the bodies of her husband and his parents.

Rescuers used sniffer dogs to locate their bodies.

Fire service spokesman Luca Cari said the rubble had to be removed piece by piece to prevent further collapses that might endanger both firefighters and anyone else still under the rubble.