Disasters & Accidents

Ischia landslide death toll rises to 10

Rome, Dec 1 (EFE).- Emergency services on Thursday found the bodies of two more victims of the landslide that hit the Italian southern island of Ischia last week, raising the death toll to 10.

The two corpses found were identified as Gianluca Monti, 38, the father of three of the four children who died in the landslide, and Salvatore Impagliazzo, 31, partner of Eleonora Sirabella, the first confirmed victim.

The search continues as the bodies of another two people remain missing, including Monti’s wife and mother of the three deceased children. All five members of the family were at home asleep when the landslide hit.

They lived in Casamicciola, the municipality most affected by the catastrophe.

Torrential rains struck the island of Ischia, in front of the Gulf of Naples, last week, causing floods and a landslide that violently swept away everything as it passed through Casamicciola.

In addition to the Monti family, Maurizio Scotto Di Minico and Giovanna Mazzella, 32 and 30 years old respectively, as well as their less than one-month-old baby, Giovangiuseppe, and a 58-year-old Bulgarian woman lost their lives in the tragedy.

Five people were also injured, one of whom was reported in critical condition and is currently in hospital in Naples.

The tragedy has highlighted that many of the houses on the island were not built properly, in areas of high hydrogeological and seismic risk on the volcanic island of Ischia.

The government of the far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni declared a state of emergency on the island and has set up a taskforce to study the level of risk in different areas across the country.

Nello Musumeci, minister for Civil Protection, appeared on Thursday in parliament and announced that he will appoint the government delegate in Naples as the “authority in charge of the demolition” of the irregular buildings and accused the mafia of often being behind such constructions. EFE

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