Death toll climbs in Ischia landslide

A bus carried into the sea by the landslide

 CASAMICCIOLA, Ischia – At least seven people, including four children, died in a landslide that swept through a town on this island in the bay of Naples following heavy rains, rescue workers said as they dug through mud strewn streets and houses for a second day Sunday. 

 Firefighters said the dead included a 22-day old baby boy. At least five other people were missing and feared dead while over 150 others were made homeless. 

 Bad weather had been battering the island near Naples throughout the night and around 5 a.m. on Saturday a large piece of the Northern slope of Mount Epomeo came loose and descended onto the town of Casamicciola below. Buildings were destroyed, cars were carried into the sea and people were submerged in the landslide. 

 The first death in the incident was confirmed on Saturday afternoon when a woman’s body was found under earth and debris which had settled in Piazza Maio.

 The rescue operation was further hindered by the ongoing rough weather, which did not permit outside help to access the island easily. The island of 65,000 year around inhabitants is notorious for an estimated 25,000 illegally built houses, many of them thrown up with cement in areas that are geologically vulnerable.

 Campania regional governor warned that many of the illegally built villas and houses on the island would have to be demolished to prevent more such disasters. Many illegally built houses were given legal status in 2018 in a much-criticised measure that followed an earthquake seriously damaging Ischia in 2017.

 Authorities evacuated some 200 people from the affected area, while roughly 100 others were yet to be reached by firefighters.

 The dead included a 58-year-old Bulgarian woman living on the island married to a local, identifed as Nikolinka Ganceva Blagova. 

  jp-es

Houses swallowed by the landslide

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