At least one missing in Italian Matera building collapse

A residential building collapsed in the Italian ancient city of Matera in the early morning on Saturday, leaving at least one person missing, local reports said. Rescue teams rushed to the spot and rescued six people, but at least one person was reported to be still missing in the debris, according to Corriere della Sera newspaper. Meanwhile ANSA news agency said two people, including a 31-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man, were still missing. Local media said there were four apartments in the building, which was in the old city center, but the exact number of people living there was still unknown. "There is no reliable information about the number of inhabitants of the building," Matera Mayor Salvatore Adduce told Sky television. Rescue workers were reportedly digging in the debris with their hands for hours to prevent further collapse, while searching for the missing. Local authorities were investigating to ascertain responsibilities. Deputy Interior Minister Filippo Bubbico has arrived in the southern city to monitor the situation. "We must understand the reasons for the collapse. They were doing some works at the ground floor, and some inexperience may have caused the accident," he was quoted as saying by Corriere della Sera. Matera's old town is home of the most outstanding, intact example of a troglodyte settlement in the Mediterranean region, the "Sassi of Matera" ancient cave dwellings, which were listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1993. The city's first inhabited zone dates from the Palaeolithic, while later settlements illustrate a number of significant stages in human history.