An explosion probably caused by a gas leak killed five people in a town in northwestern Italy early on Saturday, flattening a two-storey building and damaging several others, firefighters said.

Five bodies were recovered from the rubble of the residential building in Arnasco, a small town in the Liguria region, and a woman was taken to hospital in a serious condition, fire service spokesman Luca Cari said.

"We haven't yet completed the investigation into the cause of the explosion, but it's compatible with a gas leak, and that's the only hypothesis we have at this point," Cari said.

Source: SPA