A landslide engulfed buildings and swept vehicles into the sea during heavy rain on the southern Italian holiday island of Ischia on Saturday.

The fire brigade said searches were under way for 13 people initially believed to be missing. The interior minister, though, denied earlier reports that eight people had been killed.

Torrential rain hit the port of Casamicciola Terme, one of six small towns on the volcanic island near Naples, in the early hours, triggering flooding and bringing down buildings.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said there were "difficulties in the rescue operations because the weather conditions are still challenging."

One family with a newborn baby reported missing earlier was later found in hospital, a local authority official in Naples told the AGI news agency.

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The fire service said one house had been overwhelmed by the mud and that two people had been rescued from a car swept into the sea.

It said help was being sent from Naples, the nearest major city, but weather conditions were making it difficult to access the island.

Ischia is a volcanic island around 30 km from Naples that draws visitors to its thermal baths and picturesque coastline. 

It is densely populated and has a large number of illegally built houses, putting inhabitants at permanent risk from flooding and earthquakes.

In 2006 a landslide killed a father and his three daughters on the island.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was in close contact with Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci, the Civil Protection Department and the local Campania Region.

"The government expresses its closeness to the citizens and mayors of the municipalities on the island of Ischia and thanks the rescuers engaged in the search for the missing", Meloni said.

The area is susceptible to fatal landslides. In 1998 at least 150 people were killed when mud submerged the village of Sarno, also not far from Naples.