At least eight people died as a result of a massive landslide in the town of Casamicciola on Italy's Ischia island on Saturday morning, according to local media.
Reports said Ischia Mayor Enzo Ferrandino described the incident as a tragedy.
"The number of missing people in Casamicciola is still unknown. Due to the bad weather conditions, we have other critical situations, but not so acute," Ferrandino was quoted as saying by the news agency.
"There are eight people dead in the Ischia landslide. Rescuers are working in difficult conditions," Infrastructure minister Matteo Salvini said in a statement.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi was quoted by the media as saying that there are no confirmed deaths at the moment.
The minister was visiting the emergency services to help coordinate the rescue, adding that the situation was evolving.
On the other hand, other media reported that at least 13 people, including a baby, were missing in Ischia as a result of the landslide caused by heavy rains. Burying under the collapse were several residential buildings, including a home for a family of three and a 25-year-old woman.
Firefighters, civil defense officers, and Italian carabinieri are reportedly working at the scene now. They had already rescued a man who got into the mud, according to the media.
The radio reported, quoting the city's mayor, Giacomo Pascal, that a dangerous situation was also observed in another town, Lacco Ameno, where mudflows destroyed about 10 buildings and trapped approximately 20 to 30 people in their homes.
The Chigi Palace said that Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is in constant contact with the government of Campania, the region where the tragedy occurred, and the Civil Defense Service.
According to local authorities, 120 millimeters (4.7 inches) of rain fell on the island of Ischia on Friday. Mud torrents flooded the streets and damaged many buildings and cars.
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