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Death toll surges as search for Italy's earthquake survivors continues – Thursday's developments

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 Updated 
Thu 25 Aug 2016 10.11 EDTFirst published on Wed 24 Aug 2016 19.05 EDT

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Key events

Here’s a summary of how things stand almost 36 hours after the earthquake struck.

  • Hopes are dwindling of finding more survivors alive as aftershocks continue to hamper rescue efforts. A senior officials suggested the operation could switch from rescue to recovering bodies, on Thursday evening.
  • Italy’s civil protection agency said the death toll from the earthquake stands at 241 with a further 264 injured. This represents a slight revision downwards from the 247 figure given earlier this morning.
  • Five Romanians, one Spaniard and an Albanian man were confirmed to be among the victims. The Albanian man was named as 33-year-old Erjon Toro. His wife and three children were injured when the family home collapsed in Amatrice.
  • Officials said the death toll is likely to rise further. The number of people killed could yet surpass the last major earthquake to strike Italy in L’Aquilla in 2009 when more than 300 people were killed.
  • The mayor of Amatrice, Sergio Pirozzi, said he feared 200 people could have died in his town alone. “Our heart is broken but will be resurrected” he told RAI News.
  • Rescue teams continued to try to find survivors under the rubble. Overnight a 10-year-old girl was pulled alive from the rubble after being buried for more than 17 hours in the hill town of Pescara del Tronto.
  • The area continues to be hit by powerful aftershocks. On Thursday after seismologists recorded a 4.3 magnitude tremor.
  • Hundreds of those displaced by the earthquake are preparing to spend a night under canvas in tents set up around the worst-hit towns.
  • An appeal for blood donations has prompted many Italians to queue outside blood transfusion centres. The authorities thanked 1,500 people who donated blood.
  • Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi, is due to hold a cabinet meeting to decide measures to help affected communities. “Today is a day for tears, tomorrow we can talk of reconstruction,” he told reporters late on Wednesday.

We are going to pause the blog for now, but will return to it to cover any major announcements.

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4.3 magnitude aftershock

A 4.3 magnitude aftershock hit the area within the last hour – the latest in a string of powerful aftershocks.

Italy’s geological agency continues to monitor a high level seismic activity in the area.

#terremoto ML:4.3 2016-08-25 12:36:05 UTC Lat=42.60 Lon=13.29 Prof=10Km Zona=Rieti. https://t.co/mS4gviDOQJ

— INGVterremoti (@INGVterremoti) August 25, 2016

As do journalists.

My report moments after a powerful aftershock in #Amatrice pic.twitter.com/hfZd2axZhQ

— Lucy Kafanov (@LucyKafanov) August 25, 2016

#Terremoto, la terra trema ancora: il video della nuova forte scossa 4.3. Crolli ad #Amatrice pic.twitter.com/eleNLvEx2H

— Rainews (@RaiNews) August 25, 2016

That was a big one. Probably (from my experience) at least a 5 on the Richter scale. 3-4 seconds of strong aftershock in #Amatrice.

— Bill Neely (@BillNeelyNBC) August 25, 2016

Most of the guests in the Hotel Roma in Amatrice survived, according to the owner.

Some 32 people were registered at the hotel when the earthquake hit, fewer than first feared. The owner told local media that most of the guests had managed to escape.

Firefighters’ spokesman Luca Cari said one body had been pulled out of the hotel rubble just before dawn after five were extracted earlier.

Amatrice, hotel Roma: "Molti clienti sono riusciti a fuggire" #amatrice https://t.co/aoukiw54HG pic.twitter.com/csJSNN6X4t

— Tgcom24 (@MediasetTgcom24) August 25, 2016

Hundreds of those displaced by the earthquake are preparing to spend a night under canvas in tents set up around the worst-hit towns.

Atemporary camp in Pescara del Tronto was set up for the survivors of the earthquake. Photograph: Marco Zeppetella/AFP/Getty Images

Last night in Amatrice, around 50 older people and children spent the night inside a local sports hall.

“It’s not easy for them,” civil protection volunteer Tiziano De Carolis told AP. “They have lost everything: the work of an entire life, like those who have a business, a shop, a pharmacy, a grocery store. From one day to another, they discovered everything they had was destroyed.”

6.2 magnitude earthquake hits central Italy
epa05509337 A general view ofrom inside a sports hall providing earthquake victims and rescue workers with temporary shelter after the earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, 25 August 2016. The provisional death toll from Wednesday’s earthquake in central Italy has risen to 247, the civil protection agency said Thursday, 25 August. EPA/FLAVIO LO SCALZO
Photograph: Flavio Lo Scalzo/EPA

Dwindling hope of finding more survivors

A senior official leading the rescue efforts has said hopes of finding more survivors are dwindling.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme, Giovanni Coviello, a regional commander with the forest rangers regional, suggested the search for survivors could be called off this evening. Speaking in broken English he said: “I think they can survive for 12 or 15 hours more, but at the end of this afternoon we declare to stop the research because we will not have a probability to find people alive.”

The last survivor of the L’Aquila earthquake in 2009 was pulled out after spending 72 hours under rubble.

Other rescue officials have refused to say when their work would shift from saving lives to recovering bodies.

“We will work relentlessly until the last person is found, and make sure no one is trapped,” said Lorenzo Botti, a rescue team spokesman told AP.

Rescuers carry a body recovered from the rubble in Amatrice. Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP
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Death toll revised down to 241

Italy’s Civil Protection department has revised the death toll down to 241 from a previous figure of 247. It said a further 264 people were injured. Officials said they expected to confirm more deaths as the search operation continues.

#Terremoto, Conf. stampa Protezione Civile: il bilancio provvisorio del sisma è di 241 morti #canale48 @RaiNews pic.twitter.com/L5dn9XYW3k

— Rainews (@RaiNews) August 25, 2016

The Italian news agency, Ansa, has interviewed Angelo Moroni, the policeman who pulled out a girl from the rubble in Pescara del Tronto on Wednesday evening.

“We dug with bare hands for hours,” it quotes him saying. “In those moments you can go on without thinking and without feeling thirsty.”

The girl, named as Giorgia or Giulia, is recovering in hospital after spending at least 16 hours under the rubble. Her parents were also rescued, but her 10-year-old sister was killed.

“I hope that Giorgia remembers little about it,” Moroni said, “in fact I hope I forget everything.”

He added: “We were only sure that we was saved her when we put on the stretcher and the doctors took her away. Then there we erupted with thunderous joy.”

There are conflicting reports about the surving girl’s age. Ansa said she was eight. Earlier it was reported that she is 10.

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The number of Romanians killed in the earthquake has risen to five, according to AP citing Romania’s foreign ministry. A further 11 Romanians are missing it said.

Relatives are still hoping family members might be alive beneath the rubble, writes Oscar Lopez in Amatrice.

Lea D’Angela, 52, was standing near a group of rescuers asking about her mother. “If she is alive we will find her,” a police officer said. “But right now, there is nothing you can do here.”

D’Angela, who was born in Amatrice and left when she was 26, said her parents lived in the historic town centre. “I’m so worried for my mother,” she said.

Her father is in hospital in a critical condition after being pulled from the rubble on Wednesday night. “He’s alive, but he’s not in a good condition. The house crushed him,” she said.

D’Angela had come with her three teenaged children, all visibly upset.

Danzante Paoletti lived in Amatrice for 16 years until 2008 before moving to nearby Sant Angelo, where his house was “completely destroyed” by the quake. Eight people in the area died, including a young girl. “They were all friends of mine,” he said. “Above all else, we feel sadness. But hope must not die. I hope we find so many children and young people who have survived that this place can be reborn.”

Emergency workers search the rubble of a building that was destroyed in earthquake in Amatrice Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

A 33-year-old Albanian man was among the 247 victims, according Balkan Insight. It names him as Erjon Toro citing the Albania foreign ministry.

It said Toro died when his home in Amatrice collapsed. His wife and three children were injured.

Seven other Albanians were seriously injured.

Trucks full of rubble have been leaving Amatrice area every few minutes, according to Reuters.

In one of the trucks a dusty doll could be seen lying on top of tonnes of debris, Reuters reports.

A doll is seen on the rubble following the earthquake in Amatrice. Photograph: Stefano Rellandini/Reuters

Police have cleared the roads to allow rescue and recovery workers to get through. Other roads have been closed to allow urgent repairs to be made.

Buckled main roads being patched up and used to get access to some of the stricken areas. #ItalyEarthquake pic.twitter.com/tiOC9I3hti

— emma murphy (@emmamurphyitv) August 25, 2016

Two Romanians and a Spaniard are among the 247 people known to have died in the earthquake, AP reports.

Spain’s foreign ministry said at least one Spanish citizen was among the dead. It gave no further details.

Earlier, Romania’s foreign ministry said two Romanians had died and eight are missing.

Ministry spokesman Ionut Valcu said another four Romanians were being treated for injuries in hospital. Romania consular officials have travelled to the area and are in touch with the families of those affected. Media reports say about 8,000 Romanians live in the area.

Italy’s ministry for culture and tourism announced that all the proceeds from state museums taken on Sunday will be donated to the earthquake relief effort.

@dariofrance 'tutti gli incassi dei musei statali di domenica 28 agosto saranno destinati ai territori terremotati' #terremoto #museitaliani

— MiBACT (@MiBACT) August 25, 2016
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More on this story

More on this story

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  • Italy holds mass state funeral for earthquake victims

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  • 'I'll remember evil murmur of moving walls': Italy earthquake survivors' tales emerge

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