Italy landslide – girl’s body found

SEARCH teams pulled the body of a young girl from her family home yesterday as they dug through mud for a second day in the search for people still missing after an enormous landslide on the Italian resort island of Ischia.

The Naples prefect confirmed yesterday that the death toll in the tragedy had risen to two, following the recovery of the body of a 31-year-old woman from the island on Saturday. A further 10 people remained missing in the port town of Casamicciola, feared buried under mud and debris.

Small bulldozers were being used to clear debris, and Italian media said digging was continuing by hand in some places and that teams of divers had been brought in. Giacomo Pascale, the mayor of the neighbouring town of Lacco Ameno, told state TV: “We are continuing the search with our hearts broken, because among the missing are also minors.”

The massive landslide before dawn on Saturday was triggered by exceptional rainfall, and sent a mass of mud and debris hurtling down a mountainside towards the port of Casamicciola, collapsing buildings and sweeping vehicles into the sea. By yesterday, 164 people had been left homeless. A circulated video showed a man, clinging to a shutter, chest-deep in muddy water.