- Title: Italian rescuers search into second night after quake
- Date: 25th August 2016
- Summary: AMATRICE, ITALY (AUGUST 25, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AMBULANCES AND RESCUERS ON ROAD RESCUE WORKERS WALKING TOWARDS CORDONED OFF, DAMAGED CENTRE OF TOWN EMERGENCY WORKERS BULLDOZER BY COLLAPSED BUILDING RESCUE WORKERS IN BULLDOZER CABIN ARMY VEHICLE MOVING PAST ROAD SIGNS VARIOUS OF ARMY VEHICLE BY RUBBLE COLLAPSED HOUSE ARMY VEHICLE MOVING TOWARDS DAMAGED CENTRE OF TOWE
- Embargoed: 9th September 2016 20:25
- Keywords: Italy quake Pescara del Tronto Amatrice rescue workers search
- Location: AMATRICE AND PESCARA DEL TRONTO, ITALY
- City: AMATRICE AND PESCARA DEL TRONTO, ITALY
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Earthquakes/Volcanoes/Tsunami
- Reuters ID: LVA0024WMLP3B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The death toll from a devastating earthquake in central Italy climbed to at least 250 on Thursday (August 25).
The numbers could rise further with rescue teams working for a second day to try to find survivors under the rubble of flattened towns.
Dozens of emergency workers with sniffer dogs clambered over piles of debris trying to find anyone still buried beneath, while cranes removed huge slabs of fallen masonry and trucks full of rubble left the area every few minutes.
Almost 200 of the victims died in Amatrice, which is famed for a local pasta dish and was full of holidaymakers ahead of its 50th annual food festival, set for this weekend.
Up to 15 tourists were believed to have been buried when the town's Hotel Roma imploded.
It was unclear how many seasonal visitors were in the area on Wednesday (August 24) when the quake struck, making it hard to track the number of deaths.
Swathes of Amatrice, last year voted one of Italy's most beautiful historic towns, were completely flattened.
As the sun began setting on Thursday evening, emergency and rescue workers, army officers and police forces could be seen continuing search and rescue operations near the damaged centre of Amatrice.
While hopes of finding more people alive diminished by the hour, firefighters' spokesman Luca Cari recalled that survivors were found up to 72 hours after a quake in L'Aquila in 2009.
The head of the Civil Protection Department said he feared the death toll might surpass that in L'Aquila, which killed more than 300 people. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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