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WORLD> Europe
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Tremors impede Italy rescue as hopes fade
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-09 22:57 Rescue workers haven't found any survivors for more than 30 hours. The last person rescued, a 20-year-old woman, was dug out from the ruins of a four-storey building late on Tuesday. In rare cases, people have survived more than a week buried under rubble following earthquakes. The government has said searches will continue at least until Easter. Top Cardinal at Funeral The Vatican's No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, will preside at a funeral in L'Aquila for the victims on Friday, which required a special dispensation because mass is not usually celebrated on Good Friday in the Catholic church. Relatives of the dead have already begun holding private funerals. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has declared an emergency and sent in thousands of troops, chaired a cabinet meeting in Rome on Thursday due to approve urgent reconstruction spending and tax breaks for communities.
Police say they have stopped several people from looting. A man detained during the night carrying 80,000 euros ($106,200) in cash was released after the money proved to be his, local media reported. Authorities say 28,000 people lost their homes in the earthquake, with 17,000 now living in tents and the rest in free hotel rooms or staying with family. Officials say the quake will have a huge impact in a region which mostly lives off tourism, farming and family businesses. One estimate put the damage from the disaster at up to 3 billion euros, but its impact on Italy's nearly 2-trillion-euro economy is expected to be limited. With many local churches badly damaged, people prepared to celebrate Easter in makeshift chapels. Italy's Bakers Association sent thousands of loaves of bread and cakes to L'Aquila, but survivors were buckling down for a grim Easter. "We have been waiting for three days for the rescue workers to come and help us get some basic necessities," said Stefano Dedonadis, 22, who slept with his parents in a car outside their ruined second-storey flat. "We have nothing but these clothes."
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