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| Italian earthquake death toll soars as rescuers work through night | Italian earthquake death toll soars as rescuers work through night |
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| The death toll from the devastating pre-dawn earthquake that struck central Italy has risen to 247, after rescue teams using sniffer dogs, bulldozers and their bare hands worked through the night in a desperate search for survivors. | The death toll from the devastating pre-dawn earthquake that struck central Italy has risen to 247, after rescue teams using sniffer dogs, bulldozers and their bare hands worked through the night in a desperate search for survivors. |
| At least 368 more people were injured, the national civil protection agency said in Rome, and an unknown number remained trapped in the rubble of collapsed and damaged buildings in the cluster of ancient hilltop towns and villages, some almost entirely razed by the 6.2-magnitude quake. | At least 368 more people were injured, the national civil protection agency said in Rome, and an unknown number remained trapped in the rubble of collapsed and damaged buildings in the cluster of ancient hilltop towns and villages, some almost entirely razed by the 6.2-magnitude quake. |
| The Ansa news agency reported that one of the youngest victims was an 18-month-old girl whose mother survived the 2009 L’Aquila quake. | |
| A powerful 4.7 aftershock, one of more than 200 to hit the region, struck at about 5.40am on Thursday near Norcia, the epicentre of Wednesday’s 3.36am tremor that flattened houses, buckled roads and buried residents under mounds of debris in and around Amatrice, Accumoli and Arquata and Pescara del Tronto. | A powerful 4.7 aftershock, one of more than 200 to hit the region, struck at about 5.40am on Thursday near Norcia, the epicentre of Wednesday’s 3.36am tremor that flattened houses, buckled roads and buried residents under mounds of debris in and around Amatrice, Accumoli and Arquata and Pescara del Tronto. |
| “The town just isn’t here any more,” said Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of Amatrice, which was last year voted one of Italy’s most beautiful historic towns. A regional engineer estimated that about 80% of the town’s medieval centre had been completely destroyed. | |
| Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi, warned after visiting the remote area, which straddles the regions of Umbria, Marche and Lazio about 90 miles east of Rome, that the toll from the quake – felt more than 135 miles away, in Bologna to the north and Naples to the south – was likely to rise. | Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi, warned after visiting the remote area, which straddles the regions of Umbria, Marche and Lazio about 90 miles east of Rome, that the toll from the quake – felt more than 135 miles away, in Bologna to the north and Naples to the south – was likely to rise. |
| “Right now we feel terrible pain,” Renzi said. “Italy is a family that has been hit and struck, but we are not going to be stopped. From tomorrow, and in the next few months, we’ll work on reconstruction. But now is a time to pray and shed tears; a moment for respect and pain for all Italians for this huge shock.” | “Right now we feel terrible pain,” Renzi said. “Italy is a family that has been hit and struck, but we are not going to be stopped. From tomorrow, and in the next few months, we’ll work on reconstruction. But now is a time to pray and shed tears; a moment for respect and pain for all Italians for this huge shock.” |
| Hastily erected tent cities and kitchens outside the ruined towns catered to some of the more than 2,000 people unable to return home because of the risk from aftershocks. The mountainous area, just north of L’Aquila, which was hit by a 2009 earthquake that left 300 dead, is particularly popular with holidaymakers escaping the summer heat of Rome. | Hastily erected tent cities and kitchens outside the ruined towns catered to some of the more than 2,000 people unable to return home because of the risk from aftershocks. The mountainous area, just north of L’Aquila, which was hit by a 2009 earthquake that left 300 dead, is particularly popular with holidaymakers escaping the summer heat of Rome. |
| “Tonight will be our first nightmare night,” said Alessandro Gabrielli as he prepared to spend the night in one of the many emergency tents, each housing 12 homeless quake victims. “Last night, I woke up with a sound that sounded like a bomb.” | “Tonight will be our first nightmare night,” said Alessandro Gabrielli as he prepared to spend the night in one of the many emergency tents, each housing 12 homeless quake victims. “Last night, I woke up with a sound that sounded like a bomb.” |
| The influx of visitors makes it hard for rescuers to know exactly how many people were staying in holiday homes and hotels. More than 70 were initially thought to be inside the Hotel Roma in Amatrice when it collapsed, but the number was later lowered to 35, many of whom survived. Five bodies were pulled from the rubble and 10 guests were still missing. | The influx of visitors makes it hard for rescuers to know exactly how many people were staying in holiday homes and hotels. More than 70 were initially thought to be inside the Hotel Roma in Amatrice when it collapsed, but the number was later lowered to 35, many of whom survived. Five bodies were pulled from the rubble and 10 guests were still missing. |
| To muted cheers and applause, rescuers working in the darkness with emergency lighting pulled a 10-year-old girl alive from the rubble in Pescara del Tronto late on Wednesday night, nearly 20 hours after the quake struck. | To muted cheers and applause, rescuers working in the darkness with emergency lighting pulled a 10-year-old girl alive from the rubble in Pescara del Tronto late on Wednesday night, nearly 20 hours after the quake struck. |
| “You can hear something under here. Quiet, quiet,” one rescue worker said, before soon urging her on: “Come on, Giulia, come on.” | “You can hear something under here. Quiet, quiet,” one rescue worker said, before soon urging her on: “Come on, Giulia, come on.” |
| Other children, however, were not so lucky: among those who died in nearby Accumoli were a family of four, including two boys aged eight months and nine years. | Other children, however, were not so lucky: among those who died in nearby Accumoli were a family of four, including two boys aged eight months and nine years. |
| “Unfortunately, 90% we pull out are dead, but some make it. That’s why we are here,” Christian Bianchetti, a volunteer from nearby Rieti who was working overnight in Amatrice, told Reuters. | “Unfortunately, 90% we pull out are dead, but some make it. That’s why we are here,” Christian Bianchetti, a volunteer from nearby Rieti who was working overnight in Amatrice, told Reuters. |
| A steady stream of trucks brought tonnes of twisted metal, rock and cement down the hill and on to the main road on Wednesday, passed in the other direction by cranes, bulldozers and rescue teams from the army, Alpine guides, carabinieri, firefighters, Red Cross and volunteers. Many small, remote hamlets had to wait several hours before they were reached. | A steady stream of trucks brought tonnes of twisted metal, rock and cement down the hill and on to the main road on Wednesday, passed in the other direction by cranes, bulldozers and rescue teams from the army, Alpine guides, carabinieri, firefighters, Red Cross and volunteers. Many small, remote hamlets had to wait several hours before they were reached. |
| Amatrice’s regular population was swollen with visitors before the town’s 50th annual festival to celebrate its namesake amatriciana pasta sauce. In response to the disaster, more than 600 restaurants across Italy said they were putting the dish on their menus and would donate €2 from each one sold to the Red Cross. | |
| Italy’s earthquake institute, INGV, said the focus of the quake was near Accumoli and Amatrice and was relatively shallow, at about 2.5 miles underground. Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of Europe’s most seismically active countries. | |
| The country’s most deadly earthquake since the start of the 20th century came in 1908, when a major tremor followed by a tsunami killed an estimated 80,000 people in the southern regions of Reggio Calabria and Sicily. | The country’s most deadly earthquake since the start of the 20th century came in 1908, when a major tremor followed by a tsunami killed an estimated 80,000 people in the southern regions of Reggio Calabria and Sicily. |
| “The Apennine mountains in central Italy have the highest seismic hazard in western Europe and earthquakes of this magnitude are common,” said Richard Walters, a lecturer in Earth sciences at Durham University in Britain. | “The Apennine mountains in central Italy have the highest seismic hazard in western Europe and earthquakes of this magnitude are common,” said Richard Walters, a lecturer in Earth sciences at Durham University in Britain. |