In Pescara del Tronto, rescue crews were still looking for three people believed crushed in a hard-to-reach area.
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In Pescara del Tronto, a tiny Apennine village practically wiped off the side of the mountain, a distraught grandmother described how she had two granddaughters caught up in the quake – one lived, the other died.
Five bodies were pulled from the wreckage of a hotel late Wednesday but rescue work was suspended when conditions became too unsafe.
Spain’s foreign ministry says at least one Spaniard has died in the quake in central Italy.
“We will work relentlessly until the last person is found, and make sure no one is trapped”, rescue team spokesperson Lorenzo Botti said.
The 6.2-magnitude quake has left at least 247 people dead and levelled three towns: Pescara del Tronto, Amatrice and Accumoli.
AMATRICE, Italy – Rescue crews raced against time Thursday looking for survivors from the quake that leveled three towns in central Italy, but the death toll rose to 247 and Italy once again anguished over trying to secure its medieval communities built on seismic lands.
Most of the dead – 184 – were in Amatrice, a picturesque medieval town of around 3,000 people.
The death-toll was expected to rise further amid fears of landslides, concerns over the amount of specialised equipment available to rescuers, complaints in some villages that search teams have been slow to arrive despite a massive rescue and relief effort.
The town, known across Italy and beyond for a local pasta dish, had been filling up for the 50th edition of a popular food festival this weekend.
Ministry spokesman Ionut Valcu said Thursday that four Romanians were being treated for injuries in hospitals He did not provide details on the identity of those who died or were injured. On Thursday, the sun rose on frightened people who had slept in cars or tents, the earth continuing to tremble under their feet.
“It’s not easy for them”, said civil protection volunteer Tiziano De Carolis, helping to care for about 350 homeless in Amatrice.
Firefighters dig through the rubble of collapsed buildings in Arquata, central Italy. At least 365 people were injured in the initial natural disaster and the aftermath. “We are far behind in the other lessons”.
Some experts estimate that 70 per cent of Italy’s buildings aren’t built to anti-seismic standards, though not all are in high-risk areas. It’s no small task to secure thousands of ancient towns and newer structures built before codes were passed or later in violation of them.
Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into building collapses in the Lazio towns of Accumoli and Amatrice following Wednesday’s quake.
But it was only the latest in a long string of killer quakes in the central Apennines, part of the mountainous “spine” that runs down Italy.
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As night fell on Thursday, rescuers said they had pulled 215 people from the rubble, but as the hours passed only bodies were recovered, including many children who had been spending their summer holidays in the region.
