5 die in Italian factory collapse

The death toll rose to five Tuesday in the collapse of a knitwear factory in the small Italian town of Barletta, UPI quoted officials as saying. Four bodies were recovered in the rubble, all of them female textile workers between the ages of 30 and 37, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. A fifth victim, the teenage daughter of the married couple who ran the factory, was found immediately after the building collapse on Monday. Six workers injured in the accident were reported in good condition. Among the injured was a pregnant woman who spent five hours buried beneath the rubble. "We were digging with our hands so we would not hurt anyone found under the debris," said Barletta Prefect Carlo Sessa. Rescue workers and gas company employees worked side by side after the building collapse triggered a gas leak. In the past few days residents who lived near the textile factory reportedly told the city council they heard creaking noises coming from the old structure.