Debris kills woman as earthquake shakes Italian isle

A WOMAN died and seven people were missing last night after an earthquake hit the Italian holiday island of Ischia.

The fatality came in the town of Casamicciola, which is in the island’s north, after debris fell from a church, Italian media reported. Seven people were unaccounted for yesterday and 25 injured after a building collapsed.

The 3.6 magnitude earthquake hit at around 9pm local time and came just days ahead of the first anniversary of the quake that killed nearly 300 people in central Italy.

Firefighters said that several buildings on the island were damaged or had collapsed. Ischia’s only hospital was also hit and some patients were evacuated. Restaurants were packed and many stores were still open when the shaking began, witnesses said on Twitter. Ischia has been a frequent victim of earthquakes, with its worst dating back over a century. Estimated at a magnitude of 5.8, it killed more than 2,000 people in July 1883.

Much of Italy’s land mass and some of its surrounding waters are prone to seismic activity.