Firefighters continue to search for people feared missing after severe flooding in the Sicilian capital Palermo on Wednesday night. Rescue teams searched overnight and into Thursday morning for people feared to have drowned during the flash floods, caused by what the mayor said was the most violent rainstorm since "at least 1790".

Over one metre of rain fell in under two hours, leaving cars submerged in parts of the city centre. Italian media initially reported that two people had drowned in the flooding, following an eyewitness report of a couple trapped in their car in a flooded underpass. But local police have since stated that they have't received any reports of missing persons in the area.