At least one dead and 11 missing after landslide.

The Italian government on Sunday declared a state of emergency on the southern island of Ischia after a deadly landslide hit the town of Casamicciola Terme at dawn on Saturday following a night of heavy rain.

The government of premier Giorgia Meloni has sanctioned €2 million in a first tranche of emergency funding to tackle the disaster which has led to one confirmed death - an Italian woman aged 31 - with 11 people missing, four injured and 167 people displaced.

There are some 15 homes hit by the landslide, reports news agency ANSA, while those missing are believed to be members of two families, with at least two children.

#Ischia #nubifragio, ricognizione aerea dell'elicottero dei #vigilidelfuoco Drago VF 62 sulle zone di Casamicciola interessate da frana [#27novembre 11:45] pic.twitter.com/Rnpr1KrhMr

— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) November 27, 2022

Meloni praised the rescue efforts which continue around the clock in Casamicciola after the landslide engulfed whole buildings and swept cars into the sea in a torrent of mud, rocks and debris.

Italy's president Sergio Mattarella also expressed his gratitude to the work being carried out by rescuers.

Scenes of devastation in #Casamicciola on the Italian island of #Ischia after a landslide at dawn today following heavy rain.pic.twitter.com/X929FUZaIq— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) November 26, 2022

There was initial confusion over the death toll on Saturday after deputy premier and infrastructure minister Matteo Salvini told reporters at the launch of Milan's new M4 subway that eight people were confirmed dead in the landslide.

However this was swiftly denied by the prefect of Naples, Claudio Palomba, and interior minister Matteo Piantedosi, who both stressed that there were at no confirmed deaths at the time.

Photo Fanpage