6 killed as Italy hit by earthquake
Source: Agencies |
May 21, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
One of the worst earthquakes to hit northeast Italy in hundreds of years rattled the region around Bologna early yesterday, killing at least six people, collapsing factories and sending residents running out into the streets, emergency workers said.
The 6.0-magnitude quake struck at 4:04am, with its epicenter about 35 kilometers north of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 5 kilometers, the US Geological Survey said.
Civil defense agency official Adriano Gumina said it was the worst in the region since the 1300s. It left bell towers cracked, chunks of church facades lying in the streets, and roofs caved in.
Agency chief Franco Gabrielli said four night-shift factory workers died as buildings collapsed at three separate locations. In addition, he said, two women died - apparently of heart attacks possibly sparked by fear - shortly after the quake rocked the area.
Sky TG24 TV reported one of them was about 100 years old.
Gabrielli said "dozens" were injured, although it was too soon for a definitive count.
Two of the dead were workers at a ceramics factory in the town of Sant'Agostino di Ferrara, who died when the cavernous building collapsed into a pile of rubble, leaving twisted metal supports jutting out at odd angles amid the mangled roof.
"This is immense damage but the worst part is we lost two people," said fellow worker Stefano Zeni. News reports said one of the dead had been working the shift of an ill colleague.
Elsewhere in the town, another worker was found dead under factory rubble. In the town of Ponte Rodoni di Bondeno, a worker also died as his factory collapsed, news reports said.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his traditional Sunday appearance from his studio window overlooking St Peter's Square in Rome, said he was "spiritually close" to those affected by the quake, and asked people to join him in prayers for mercy for the dead and relief for the wounded.
Emilio Bianco, receptionist at Modena's Canalgrande hotel - housed in an ornate 18th century palazzo - said the quake "was a strong one, and it lasted quite a long time." The hotel suffered no damage and Modena itself was spared, but guests spilled into the streets as soon as the quake hit, he said.
Many people were still awake at 4am and milling about town since stores and restaurants were open all night. Museums were supposed to have remained open as well, but closed following the bombing on Saturday of a school in southern Italy that killed one person.
The epicenter was between the towns of Finale Emilia, San Felice sul Panaro and Sermide but felt as far away as Tuscany and northern Alto Adige. One woman in Finale Emilia told Sky that a child had been trapped in her bedroom by falling rubble for two hours before she was rescued.
The initial quake was followed an hour later by a 5.1-magnitude aftershock.
In 2009, more than 300 people died when a quake struck the central city of L'Aquila, part of which is still largely in ruins.
The 6.0-magnitude quake struck at 4:04am, with its epicenter about 35 kilometers north of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 5 kilometers, the US Geological Survey said.
Civil defense agency official Adriano Gumina said it was the worst in the region since the 1300s. It left bell towers cracked, chunks of church facades lying in the streets, and roofs caved in.
Agency chief Franco Gabrielli said four night-shift factory workers died as buildings collapsed at three separate locations. In addition, he said, two women died - apparently of heart attacks possibly sparked by fear - shortly after the quake rocked the area.
Sky TG24 TV reported one of them was about 100 years old.
Gabrielli said "dozens" were injured, although it was too soon for a definitive count.
Two of the dead were workers at a ceramics factory in the town of Sant'Agostino di Ferrara, who died when the cavernous building collapsed into a pile of rubble, leaving twisted metal supports jutting out at odd angles amid the mangled roof.
"This is immense damage but the worst part is we lost two people," said fellow worker Stefano Zeni. News reports said one of the dead had been working the shift of an ill colleague.
Elsewhere in the town, another worker was found dead under factory rubble. In the town of Ponte Rodoni di Bondeno, a worker also died as his factory collapsed, news reports said.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his traditional Sunday appearance from his studio window overlooking St Peter's Square in Rome, said he was "spiritually close" to those affected by the quake, and asked people to join him in prayers for mercy for the dead and relief for the wounded.
Emilio Bianco, receptionist at Modena's Canalgrande hotel - housed in an ornate 18th century palazzo - said the quake "was a strong one, and it lasted quite a long time." The hotel suffered no damage and Modena itself was spared, but guests spilled into the streets as soon as the quake hit, he said.
Many people were still awake at 4am and milling about town since stores and restaurants were open all night. Museums were supposed to have remained open as well, but closed following the bombing on Saturday of a school in southern Italy that killed one person.
The epicenter was between the towns of Finale Emilia, San Felice sul Panaro and Sermide but felt as far away as Tuscany and northern Alto Adige. One woman in Finale Emilia told Sky that a child had been trapped in her bedroom by falling rubble for two hours before she was rescued.
The initial quake was followed an hour later by a 5.1-magnitude aftershock.
In 2009, more than 300 people died when a quake struck the central city of L'Aquila, part of which is still largely in ruins.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
