Irish citizen missing in swollen Rome river

Italian rescue workers are searching for an Irish citizen who fell into the River Tiber in Rome, which was swollen with rising flood-water. The man, who has not been named, was in the city for a wedding. He was drunk and trying to take a photo, when he tumbled into the torrent in the early hours of the morning.

A state of emergency imposed on Friday – when authorities feared Rome would be crippled by floods – was lifted as the previous days’ heavy rain abated. Some areas of the city were affected when parts of the river bank were breached, but the widespread power-cuts which had been feared did not materialise.

A car-driver died as she tried to negotiate an underpass in Rome which had filled with water, and elsewhere in the country three more deaths have been attributed to the extreme weather. Despite the let-up, forecasters warn storms could be back after the weekend.

Copyright © 2009 euronews

tags: Flood, Italy, Weather