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.
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Residents and rescue crews continued their search for survivors on Thursday, digging through the rubble and sending sniffer dogs to hard-to-reach areas.
At least 240 people were killed and countless more injured when a 6.2-magnitude quake struck central Italy on Tuesday night.
A strong 4.3-magnitude aftershock hit the region, causing more damage to buildings in the already devastated town of Pescara del Tronto.
Rescuers have rescued a Polish priest from the rubble of an Italian town following an natural disaster early on Wednesday which left hundreds dead.
Aerial photographs showed whole areas of Amatrice, a year ago voted one of Italy’s most attractive historic towns, flattened by the quake.
Italian Minister of Health Beatrice Lorenzin said numerous victims are children.
While hopes of finding more people alive diminished by the hour, firefighters’ spokesman Luca Cari recalled that survivors were found in L’Aquila up to 72 hours after that quake.
Most of the dead – 184 – were in Amatrice, a picturesque medieval town of around 3,000 people.
CNN reported, in one such rescue, shown on CNN affiliate Sky TG24, a firefighter in Amatrice clawed at the rubble, trying to get to a little girl.
Major quakes in Italy are often followed by criminal charges being filed against architects, builders and officials responsible for public works if the buildings crumble.
“It’s not easy for them”, said civil protection volunteer Tiziano De Carolis, helping to care for about 350 homeless in Amatrice.
Amatrice mayor Sergio Pirozzi told Italian news agency ANSA that a large portion of that town had been destroyed and that residents had been buried under the rubble of collapsed homes and buildings. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.2.
The Daily Mirror said the boy’s parents were seriously injured and taken to hospital by rescue teams.
A hotel that collapsed in Amatrice, the Hotel Roma, probably had about 70 guests and only seven bodies have been recovered so far.
In Pescara and Arquata del Tronto, two tent areas were being erected to accommodate the victims.
Sky TG24 captured the moment a 10-year-old girl was found under the rubble of a collapsed building more than 17 hours after the quake hit.
Many other children were not so lucky.
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D’Emilio reported from Amatrice, Italy, and Winfield reported from Rome.
