Two killed, 13 injured in Naples balcony collapse

A balcony at a dilapidated building in a poor district of Italy's Naples collapsed, killing two people and injuring 13, including seven children, firefighters said Tuesday.

The third floor balcony fell on two lower ones on Monday night in the Scampia quarter in the southern Italian city.

A man and a woman died of their injuries and seven children aged between two and seven were injured.

Two of the children were in serious condition with fractures, hospital sources said.

The building where the tragedy occurred is part of a seriously degraded group of imposing constructions called "the sails" because of their characteristic shape.

This complex is the subject of an urban renewal plan launched in April and several of the other "sails" have already been demolished.

Some 500 families had to be evacuated, particularly those stuck on the upper floors using the firefighters' mobile ladder, according to the Italian agency AGI.