A tornado hit the Sicilian island of Pantelleria on Friday, killing two people and seriously injuring four others, the civil protection agency said.

The whirlwind "hit and overturned six cars", the agency said in a post on Facebook, with photographs showing one vehicle thrown against a house and another lying battered in a field.

It said an off-duty fireman was among the dead on the tiny volcanic outcrop, a tourist hotspot which lies closer to North Africa than Italy.

The wind ripped down a coastal road in seconds, according to media reports.

"It was an apocalyptic sight," an unnamed paramedic at the scene told ANSA news agency.

A hospital helicopter from nearby Lampedusa island was ready to provide assistance once the weather improved, it said.

Pantelleria, famed for its volcanic cliffs and hot spring waters, regularly attracts A-listers, from Sting to Giorgio Armani.