Three firefighters killed in explosion in Italy

Three Italian firefighters have been killed in an explosion in a building in the northwestern region of Piedmont.

Sky TG24 reported that the firefighters were responding to a report of an explosion in a disused section of a farm building in Alessandria province when a second, stronger explosion occurred early on Tuesday.

The news agency Ansa said authorities are investigating whether the explosion was deliberate.

One of the dead was buried under rubble, the body only recovered after hours of digging. – AP