A Sri Lankan immigrant died and six people were injured, two critically when an explosion caused a block of flats to collapse in Taranto, southern Italy.
Four of the six people wounded in the blast were Sri Lankan and two Italian, according to rescue services. A fireman was treated for smoke inhalation.
One of the two people who were critically injured suffered severe burns in the explosion while the second person was hit by falling masonry.
Firemen were searching for other people buried under the rubble and a boy and an old lady who lived in the building were missing, Italy's Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno daily reported on its website.
The four-storey apartment building had no lift and was located in the centre of Taranto, a port city in Italy's Puglia region.
