Apartment building collapses in Naples, Italy; eight missing

Eight people are missing after the collapse of a Naples, Italy, apartment building on Friday, rescuers said.


The four-story building in Naples' Torre Annunziata district fell without warning. Neighbors said they did not hear explosions, but only crashing masonry on Friday morning.

No one was injured, but masonry fell onto a rail line, and rail service between Naples and Salerno was suspended.

Torre Annunziata Mayor Vincenzo Ascione said seven people are missing.

"According to the information I have, two families are missing. One is made up of the parents and two children. The other is composed of three adults. In total seven people, although it is difficult to give official news about the number of missing people at the moment. No one was living on the first two floors, which were undergoing renovation work. The families lived on the third and fourth [floors]," Ascione told Italy's ANSA news agency.

The renovation work, or vibrations from the railway, are suspected causes of the collapse, the BBC said. The area has seen earthquakes but no unusual seismic activity was reported at the time of the incident.
 [upi.com]
7/7/17
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