Two children among three dead in suspected gas explosion in Italy

Three members of the same family, including two young children, have died in a gas explosion in southern Italy.

Their two-storey home in the town of Saviano, near Naples, partially collapsed in the blast, killing the siblings - a boy and a girl - as well as a woman yet to be identified by authorities

A local official confirmed rescue workers found the body of the children's mother in the rubble later on Sunday.

Italian firefighters said the father and a newborn baby were recovered from the rubble alive, but the search for another woman - thought to be the children's grandmother - continues.

The Vigili del Fuoco, Italy's fire service, reported that the parents and three children lived on one floor of the home, while another woman, suggested to be a grandmother by local media, lived on the floor above.

"Firefighters recovered the father and a newborn baby alive, entrusting them to the care of the health workers on site, while they could do nothing for the two children, a boy and a girl, whose bodies were unfortunately recovered lifeless," The Vigili del Fuoco said in a statement.

While authorities have not confirmed the ages of the children, local media reported that they were four and six.

The children were found first, the Vigili del Fuoco said, and only after hours of searching the rubble did they locate the third victim.

Search and rescue teams, operating with sniffer dogs, are continuing the search for the remaining missing woman into the night, it said.

Early theories suggest the house collapsed after a gas explosion.