A large building , home to a home goods store with an attached warehouse , collapsed last night, around 4am, in Latiano, in the province of Brindisi.
At the moment no injuries have been reported but the firefighters are digging through the rubble, also with the help of sniffer dogs, to exclude the possible presence of people.
The noise from the collapse frightened residents who, by the dozen, took to the streets. According to reports, the store, which also sells pet supplies, has no gas connections or cylinders.
The area where the collapse occurred has been seized by the Brindisi prosecutor's office, which has opened an investigation to determine the causes of the building's collapse.
Among the rescuers, the hypothesis is taking shape that there are no victims among the rubble, but the firefighters continue to dig, even with the molecular dogs. On site for hours also the mayor of Latiano, Mino Maiorano, who speaks of a "tragedy narrowly avoided" . "There was a total collapse of the entire structure ", he explains.
"At the moment - he adds - the causes are unknown. The competent authorities will verify what the reasons were for this collapse". "We were lucky in the tragedy", he concludes.
(Unioneonline/vl)
