Divers in Sicily have retrieved nine bodies from a flooded house following heavy rain in the region as heavy rain and gales continue to devastate parts of Italy.
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The fire brigade said on Twitter that a mother, father, children and grandparents were found in the house in Casteldaccia, near the Sicilian capital Palermo on Saturday.
According to local media, the victims came from two families.
The water level of a river in the town had rapidly risen due to heavy rain in the region, local media reported.
Casteldaccia Mayor Giovanni Di Giacinto said the discovery of the bodies was an "immense tragedy," Italian news agency ANSA reported.
The body of a another person was discovered in the town of Vicari, according to ANSA.
More than 17 other people have been killed over the past week in storms, tornadoes, floods, mudslides and gale-force winds across Italy.
Many of the victims have been killed by falling trees and it's estimated around 14 million trees have been destroyed.
The worst damage has occurred in the northern regions of Trentino and Veneto - the region around Venice - where villages and roads have been cut off by landslides.
Many of the squares and walkways of Venice itself have been submerged in the highest floods the canal city has seen in a decade.
Australian Associated Press
