Pregnant nurse among seven dead in major Sicily explosion

Rescuers have freed the body of a pregnant nurse from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Sicily, after a massive explosion killed at least seven people

The blast was likely caused by a gas leak, and tore through four residential buildings in the southern town of Rava-Noosa.

A survivor has described the event “as if a bomb had gone off”.

Meanwhile one local resident said “neighbours had told me there was a smell of gas”.

Sicily is one of Italy’s poorest regions, which suffers from sub-standard and ageing infrastructure.

Many homes and other structures constructed in past decades were built using cheap, sub-par materials that make them more prone to collapse.