3 BRITONS KILLED IN ITALIAN QUAKE DISASTER
AT least three Britons were killed as the death toll in the Italian earthquake disaster rose to 250 yesterday.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had warned that “a number of British nationals” had been affected.
Extra consular staff have been sent to the region to help support UK citizens, he said.
The 6.2 magnitude quake struck in the early hours of Wednesday morning, flattening medieval towns and villages in the Umbria, Lazio and Marche regions.
The ancient mountain communities are popular with thousands of British tourists who flock to the region at the height of the summer holiday.
More than 5,000 rescue workers were yesterday continuing to comb through piles of rubble for survivors using heavy machinery or bare hands as dozens of people remain missing.
Rescue efforts were being hampered by hundreds of aftershocks.
Britons have been warned to leave the area as one tremor with a 4.3 magnitude hit the region, sending rescuers fleeing from the remains of shattered buildings in the ruins of the town of Amatrice. Mr Johnson said last night: “My deepest sympathies are with the Italian people and everyone affected by the terrible earthquake that struck central Italy.
“The British Government has offered any assistance that we can to help with the recovery effort and I have spoken with Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni to express my condolences personally.
“As the scale of the disaster has become clearer we now know that a number of British nationals have been affected.
“British Embassy staff are in the region providing consular support and we have deployed additional staff to support this effort.”
The Foreign Office declined to confirm whether Britons had been injured or killed but at least three deaths were reported last night.
Yesterday Italian authorities said many of the victims were holidaymakers who were staying in the four worst hit towns of Amatrice, Pescara del Tronto, Arquata del Tronto and Accumoli. Along with the three Britons, one Spaniard, five Romanians and a number of other foreigners were believed to be among the dead, officials said.
Aerial video taken by drones showed swathes of Amatrice, last year voted one of Italy’s most beautiful historic towns, completely flattened. The town, known across Italy for a local pasta dish, had been filling up for the annual food festival this weekend.
The mayor said the bodies of 15 to 20 tourists were believed to be under the rubble of the town’s Hotel Roma, which he said had about 32 guests when it collapsed.
Yesterday a 10-year-old girl was pulled from the rubble after being trapped for more than 17 hours.
The terrified youngster had been hanging upside down beneath a collapsed building as rescuers launched a frantic race against time to save her.
There were cheers and shouts of “she’s alive” as the little girl was hauled to safety from the ruins in the ancient town of Pescara del Tronto.
Dramatic footage showed a firefighter clutching the youngster tightly to his chest as she was brought out alive.
Many other children were not so lucky. A family of four, including two boys aged eight months and nine years, were buried when a church bell tower toppled into their house in nearby Accumoli.
Last night rescue team spokesman Lorenzo Botti said: “We will work relentlessly until the last person is found and make sure no one is trapped.”
‘British Embassy has sent extra staff for support’