Rome: A landslide swept through an Alpine valley, killing two people, as heavy rains battered northeast Italy. Two more people, including a child, were missing.

One man died when a home in the Pellice Valley was hit by the landslide yesterday, while another man was found dead nearby in his car, the Civil Protection said. Rescuers picked through the wreckage of the leveled home in search of a missing woman and her child.

Officials believe the mass of mud, stones and broken trees was probably detached by a stream flowing nearby that had swelled due to the rain.

After days of heavy rains in the Piedmont region, authorities monitoring the levels of rivers in the area have raised the alarm over possible floods.

The ANSA news agency said dozens of people living near the Dora Riparia river were evacuated from a village west of Turin. The river flows through Turin, where it meets the larger Po river, and bridges in the city have been closed or are being closely monitored as the waters rise.

Authorities also ordered all schools in and around Turin to stay closed today.

Source : PTI