Nursery children feared dead in Italian quake
Several children were feared dead in southern Italy today when an earthquake brought their nursery school roof down on top of them.
About 50 children, who in the school in the southern town of San Giuliano di Puglia, were trapped after the 5.4 magnitude quake struck.
“There could be some deaths,” said the region’s vice-president Aldo Patricello.
Rescuers digging among the rubble described the scene as “highly critical”.
The earthquake hit large areas of central and southern Italy, damaging buildings and causing panic and residents fled into the streets.
The quake was felt in a number of regions, including Campania, Apulia, Abruzzo and parts of Rome and was followed by a number of aftershocks.
The quake had its epicentre in Campobasso, a town 50 miles north-east of Naples.
Fire fighters in Campobasso said a car full of passengers was hit by a collapsing building.
Schools were evacuated in at least three towns in the Abbruzzo region, the ANSA news agency said.
Witnesses in several towns said the main quake was accompanied by a loud bang.
There were scenes of panic in Basilicata and Irpinia, where a devastating earthquake in 1980 killed more than 2,500 people.
A strong earthquake was also felt on Mount Etna, two days after a quake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale struck the erupting volcano, damaging buildings and making hundreds of people homeless.
