One person killed and 10 missing following landslide on Italian island of Ischia

One person was killed and 10 more were missing Saturday after heavy rain caused a landslide on the Italian holiday island of Ischia.

Search and rescue operations are underway in the small town of Casamicciola Terme and reinforcements are being sent from Naples, said the Italian Fire Brigade, but weather conditions are complicating the search, Italy’s Civil Protection department told CNN on Saturday.

Eight people had been rescued as of Saturday evening local time, said the civil protection department.

The operations were being coordinated by the Naples prefecture, authorities told CNN, and are expected to continue through the night. Seventy firefighters are currently on the island assisting with the search and rescue, Italian Fire Brigade said in a tweet.

Ischia, in the Gulf of Naples, was hit by torrential rain early Saturday, damaging cars, buildings and roads.

Videos and images shared by local and national authorities earlier today showed the destruction in the port town of Casamicciola Terme.

“It is a time of pain and great emergency,” Vincenzo De Luca, governor of the Campania region, where the island is located, said on Saturday, thanking Italian Prime Minister Meloni for her close contact and message of solidarity.

Meloni said on Twitter that she was in contact with local authorities, expressing solidarity with residents and thanking the rescue services.

Ischia mayor Enzo Ferrandino described the incident as a “tragedy” and urged people not to leave their homes, reports ANSA news agency.

In February 2021 a landslide on the Italian coast near Genoa caused the collapse of a cemetery, leading to hundreds of coffins falling into the sea.