MESSINA, Italy, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- The death toll from this week's flooding and landslides in Sicily reached at least 22, with as many as 40 people still missing, Italian officials said Saturday.
The Italian news agency Agenzia Giornalistica Italia reported 22 bodies had been recovered and the odds of finding survivors alive were diminishing. Between 35 and 40 people were still missing, AGI said.
About 40 people were injured and about 400 people had to be evacuated from their homes after heavy rains pounded the area around Messina Thursday and Friday, triggering flash floods and landslides that blocked mountain roads.
The ANSA news agency reported Saturday that officials were blaming illegal home building in flood-prone areas for the casualties.
Civil protection chief Guido Bertolaso said he has been voicing concerns for years about the practice but "nothing ever gets done."
''What do you expect to happen if you build a house on the banks of a river?" he asked reporters while inspecting the scene Friday. "Water runs its course and if there are houses in the way, this is what happens."
