17 missing after rivers overflow in northern Italy

A firefighter was killed during a rescue operation in the mountainous northern region of Val d'Aosta and authorities were searching for 17 people missing in neighbouring Piedmont as record rains have set off flooding in northwestern Italian regions bordering France.

Most of the missing were in the Cuneo province, bordering France, while one person was reported to have been swept away by a swollen river after exiting his car in the province of Vercelli.

Unrelenting rainfall overnight hit levels not seen since 1958 in the northern region of Piedmont, with as much as 630 millimeters registered in a 24 hour period, according to the civil protection agency.

The flooding destroyed bridges, blocked roads and isolated communities.

In one operation, two brothers were swept away by flood waters while they were tending animals near the French border.

One brother managed to grab onto a tree and was saved, while authorities were searching on the French side for the other brother.

In another, 11 campers were saved in the province of Vercelli.

Alpine rescue squads have evacuated seven people by foot who were in houses cut off by flooding at Terme di Valdieri; some had to be carried by stretchers due to the muddy conditions and accumulation of detritus.

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