Saturday, May 31, 2008, Jamadi-ul-Awwal 24, 1429    

Mudslides hit Italy, France, Belgium

Rome— Flooding and mudslides left at least two people dead in northern Italy after heavy rains that also hit France and Belgium, reports said, with dangerous weather likely to continue on Friday. A mudslide in Villar Pelice near the northern Italian city of Turin swept away a house, killing an old man inside it, civil protection authorities said. A second person was found dead in a car also ught up in the mudslide.

A mother and her child who lived in the building were reported missing. Elsewhere in the area, fifty patients were evacuated from a hospital in Turin. The RAI television channel showed pictures of nearby bridges and roads blocked. “It is just the beginning of the disturbances which may continue tomorrow,” the head of the civil protection service Guido Bertolaso said on Thursday.

In France the SNCF train operator closed lines overnight between Turin and Lyon, southeastern France, to avoid accidents after heavy rains in the region.

Road tunnels linking France and Italy were closed to trucks for several hours after parts were affected by a mudslide. Several highways were blocked or closed for safety in the districts of Savoie and Isere, local authorities said.—AFP