Italy Launches Criminal Probe Into Quake Disaster as Anger Mounts
Almost all the victims were crushed to death when the primary school building in the hillside village in southern Italy was toppled by Thursday's quake as they were celebrating Halloween.
Judicial authorities said they were looking into possible manslaughter charges over the disaster, although no one had yet been placed under investigation, AFP reported.
Grief-stricken villagers -- now living in makeshift tents -- have been demanding to know why the school collapsed when most other buildings in San Giuliano di Puglia remained standing. Enzo Boschi, head of Italy's National Geophysics Institute, had accused some local officials failing to abide by legislation for earthquake zones, warning: "There will be other tragedies."
Villagers took refuge under canvas overnight as Italian authorities ordered the medieval hillside town evacuated after more tremors shook the area following the killer quake, which measured 5.4 on the Richter scale.
Some villagers booed Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi when he visited the disaster scene late Thursday, while anger also mounted against local lawmakers deemed responsible for the fragile state of the building.
Most of the victims were buried under the old part of the building, built in 1953, while those in a newer section which opened last September survived.
One rescuer said the older part had been poorly built.
"They made the top part of the building in cement and reinforced its roof with cement as well. This part crashed onto the walls, which were made of small bricks and couldn't withstand the weight," he said.
The area was hit by an aftershock Friday, which at 5.1 on the Richter scale nearly matched the first quake, causing panic on the streets and injuring three people, according to RAI television.
Authorities said 150 paramilitary troops and police will patrol the deserted village to prevent looting.
Italian seismologists said more than 144 tremors had shaken the region since Thursday, the latest early Saturday morning. "All these crushed children. It makes me think of war," said a doctor at a village hospital. "I've been in this job for 25 years but to see these dead children... Some with a pen still in their hands, it's horrible."
The mood in and around the makeshift tented village reflected the prevailing mixture of grief, exhaustion, anger and disbelief.
"Bit by bit we are creating a church, a park for the children, putting together a village committee," said Enrico a coordinator of two hastily-erected tent villages, one in the grounds of a sports center on the outskirts of San Giuliano di Puglia the other in an area flattened by bulldozers.
While the temperature outside fell to six degrees celsius and a damp cold pierced through layers of clothes, the "refugees" sheltered in large royal-blue communal tents equipped with electricity and mattresses.
Hot meals were available along with medical and psychological aid.
Twenty-six of the children, mostly aged seven and eight, were confirmed dead. Rescuers on Friday also pulled the body of one of their teachers from the ruins, the last person listed as missing in the disaster.
Two elderly women also died when their homes collapsed from the quake, whose epicenter was on the east coast about 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Naples.
The regional authorities said 61 people were injured while more than 3,000 people remain homeless because of damage to their houses.
"These people are living through a nightmare. We must hold them in our arms," said one worker from the Italian Red Cross.
Pope John Paul II offered his sympathy to the victims' families.
U.S. President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, were "deeply saddened" to learn about the loss of life, the White House said Friday. "Their thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this tragedy, and with the Italian people during this difficult time.