Italy mudslide deaths 'to hit 50'

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Aerial footage of the devastation

The number of people killed in mudslides caused by heavy rains in southern Italy will rise to 50, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has warned.

Rescuers are still searching for some 40 people still missing after the country's worst mudslides for 10 years.

Twenty-one deaths and 80 injuries have been confirmed since torrential rains caused violent mudslides around the Sicilian city of Messina early Friday.

The mudslides swept away cars, toppled buildings and blocked transport links.

"In the end there'll be at least 50 dead," Mr Berlusconi told reporters in the early hours of Saturday.

He reportedly called off a visit to the region as he did not want to get in the way of rescue efforts.

Hampered efforts

Sniffer dogs were being used in the search for survivors as rescue teams used bulldozers, shovels and their bare hands to dig through the mud.

In pictures: Italy mudslide rescue

Although some 400 people had been evacuated from the area, continuing rainfall was hampering rescue efforts.

With road and rail links cut, some survivors had to be taken out of the area by sea while others were rescued from their rooftops by helicopters.

On Saturday, helicopters flew in food and supplies for the area's stranded inhabitants, regional civil defence spokesman Giampiero Gliubizzi said.

Wall of mud

Some 250 mm (10 inches) of rain fell on north-eastern Sicily in just a few hours before dawn on Friday, sparking widespread floods.

The wall of mud swamped entire streets before dawn on Friday

In places people did not have time to scramble out of their cars before they were struck by a wall of mud that swamped entire streets.

Many Italian newspapers on Saturday questioned why houses had been built so close to river-beds and the seafront in an area known to be at risk of landslides.

Analysts suggest deforestation and over-development had weakened the soil on the hills surrounding Messina, increasing the likelihood of mudslides in heavy rainfall.

A massive mudslide near Naples in 1998 killed some 150 people.