DEVASTATION
5 bodies found in mudslide search on Italian resort isle
SEARCH teams have pulled the body of a young girl from her family home after a massive mudslide on the Italian resort island of Ischia.
The death toll stood at five yesterday after their second day of looking for survivors. They include a husband and wife in their 30s and an elderly woman.
Another 10 people are missing and feared buried under mud and debris in the port town of Casamicciola.
Firefighters’ spokesman Luca Cari said: “Mud and water tend to fill every space.
“Our teams are searching with hope, even if it is very difficult.
“Our biggest hope is that people identified as missing have found refuge with relatives and friends and have not advised of their position.”
The risk of more landslides remained in the highest part of the town, near where heavy
rainfall loosened a chunk of mountainside, requiring search teams to enter by foot, he said.
Small bulldozers focused on clearing roads overnight to allow rescue vehicles to pass, while dive teams were brought in to check cars that had been swept into the sea.
Giacomo Pascale, the mayor of the neighboring town of Lacco Ameno, said: “We are continuing the search with our hearts broken, because among the missing are also children.”
Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the people of Ischia during the traditional Sunday blessing in St Peter’s Square.
He said: “I am praying for the victims, for those who are suffering and for those who are involved in the rescue.”
Italian leaders declared a state of emergency for the island following Saturday’s disaster.