Two killed as tornado strikes quake-hit Italy

An Indian national was amongst two people who died after the outskirts of Rome were hit by a tornado powerful enough to uproot trees, overturn cars and damage buildings, Italian authorities said yesterday. Schools were closed and a clean-up operation was underway in Ladispoli, a coastal town west of Rome where the whirlwind hit on Sunday evening. “It came in from the sea and swept through the town centre. There were fishing boats in the harbor that were moved over 100 meters,” the town’s mayor, Crescenzo Paliotta, told reporters. The Indian victim, identified in media reports as farm laborer Surinder Singh, died after being struck by a piece of masonry blown off the edge of an apartment building, Paliotta said. The other victim was a pensioner who was hit by a falling tree in the small town of Cesano, north of the capital. The tornado struck as Italy continues to grapple with the damage done to central regions by three powerful earthquakes in just over two months.