At least 12 people, including three children, are unaccounted for after a four-storey building collapsed following a gas explosion in the Sicilian town of Ravanusa.

The building was on fire after the explosion in the town of 11,000 near Agrigento, the southwestern Sicilian city famous for its Greek temples.

The fire has been contained by the firefighting crew and a rescue effort is underway to save people trapped under rubble, according to local reports.

Another two buildings were also damaged in the explosion, local officials said. (ILKHA)

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