Rescue teams aided by sniffer dogs searched for survivors Thursday, more than 24 hours after a powerful quake reduced several central Italian towns to rubble and killed nearly 250 people.
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The news follows a statement from Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson saying extra staff had been sent to the region to support Britons affected by the “terrible” quake.
Italy’s civil protection agency reported the death toll had risen to 247 early Thursday with at least 264 others hospitalized.
There were cheers in the village of Pescara del Tronto late Wednesday after a 10-year-old girl was pulled alive from rubble after being trapped for 17 hours.
The UK Government will offer “any assistance that we can” to Italian authorities, Mr Johnson said on Thursday.
“My deepest sympathies are with the Italian people and everyone affected by the bad natural disaster”, said Mr Johnson, who sent condolences to his Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni.
Dion said he had spoken with his Italian counterpart to express Canada’s condolences and support, and officials said the government is waiting for any request for assistance.
The town’s mayor, Sergio Pirozzi, said up to 200 of the dead were Amatrice residents or visitors who had come to the area in anticipation of the 50th annual festival celebrating “spaghetti all’Amatriciana”, which was due to take place this weekend.
The Foreign Office said a number of Britons were in the area and had been affected.
Hundreds of aftershocks are complicating rescue efforts in the region and damaging already unstable buildings. The girl emerged caked with dirt and dust, and people clapped and cheered as a firefighter carried her away from the flattened building in one of the towns hit hardest by the powerful quake.
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Rescue workers and firefighters are using heavy machinery, sniffer dogs, and their bare hands to comb the wreckage for survivors.
