Two die in apartment block explosion

Giuseppina Fiore, 29, and her husband Luigi Veneziano, 37, were killed at around 4.00am when an explosion ripped through their apartment, La Stampa reported.

Their 85-year-old neighbour, Antonio Morelli, was seriously injured and two other tenants were wounded. Fiore and Veneziano’s three-year-old son was found by rescuers crying for help.

The couple and their toddler were described by a neighbour as “a beautiful family” who had moved into the building less than a month ago.

In total, four apartments and a number of cars parked outside were destroyed, the newspaper said.

Crolla una palazzina Foggia a causa di un’esplosione: due morti e quattro feriti. http://t.co/MWNi2VJgXl pic.twitter.com/VOJSgQfOFE

— Internazionale (@Internazionale) June 3, 2014

The explosion reportedly followed tenants’ complaints the previous night of gas fumes.

“We called the Amgas technicians yesterday because there was a strong smell of gas,” Salvatore Morese, a resident in the building, was quoted in La Stampa as saying.

“They told me there was no problem: ‘Look, it sounds like nothing, they’re probably fumes from the boiler.’ I insisted but they reassured me,” he said. 

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