Canadian among at least 281 dead in Italy's earthquake

Friday, August 26, 2016, 7:14 PM - A Canadian citizen is among at least 281 dead following the 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck central Italy early Wednesday.

"I was extremely saddened to see the tragic loss of life following the devastating earthquake in central Italy, which now includes the death of a Canadian citizen," Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said in a statement. "We share in the grief of the lives cut short by this terrible event."

The victim has yet to be identified and no further details have been released.

Dion extended his condolences to his Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni during a phone call Wednesday.

The earthquake, believed to be the deadliest to strike Italy since 2009, leveled homes and trapped residents under rubble as they slept.

A state funeral has been planned for those killed in the disaster, while more than 2,000 Italians are forced to seek refuge in makeshift camps.

As of Friday evening, the death toll has climbed to 280 with that number expected to rise as crews frantically search homes in remote areas.

IN PHOTOS: Horrifying scenes from the earthquake destruction

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake hit towns and villages in the mountainous heart of the country at a depth of 10 km about 11 km from Amatrice, a town of 2,000 people north of Italy's Lazio region. Red Cross officials said Amatrice had been almost completely destroyed.

"The town is no more," said Amatrice Mayor Sergio Pirozzi. "Help us."

The earthquake was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome and from the Lazio region into Umbria and Le Marche on the Adriatic coast.

The initial quake was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock about an hour later with a string of multiple aftershocks reported within three hours of the initial quake. On Thursday, two aftershocks hit just before dawn registering at a magnitude of 5.1 and 5.4. 

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Officials say the situation is "even more dreadful than feared" as numerous wide cracks appeared around buildings that remained standing.

"Quakes with this magnitude at this depth in our territory in general create building collapses, which can result in deaths," said the head of Italy’s civil protection service, Fabrizio Curcio.

He said the focus is to save as many people as possible, adding that the region is popular with summer tourists. That makes the situation even more challenging as there isn't a precise number of how many are affected within the smaller villages. In addition, many settlements are only accessible by small roads, making it challenging for authorities to move in with heavy machinery to remove the rubble. 

More than 1,000 people have been displaced by the quake and no residents were allowed to sleep in the leveled town of Amatrice Wednesday. 

Civil protection workers continuing digging, trying to reach any survivors.

"We need chain saws, shears to cut iron bars and jacks to remove beams," a civil protection worker, Andrea Gentili, told The Associated Press. "Everything, we need everything."

Residents have also joined together in rescue efforts, using whatever equipment they can find to help dig and locate any survivors. 

*Warning: Dramatic footage of earthquake rescue below*

Italy's State Forestry Corps tweeted this dramatic footage of a rescue operation underway in the rural town of Capodacqua, where you can see a woman's arm beneath all of the debris.

According to CNN, the rescuer asks, "Are you able to breath?"
"Only a bit," the woman responds after being assured that more help is on the way.

Officials say emergency teams have been successful in rescuing some survivors under the rubble, but the mountainous terrain and remote access are making locations more difficult to get to.

Wednesday's quake struck near the site of another deadly earthquake that hit the country in 2009 killing nearly 300 people. 

"It occurred near an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 that happened near L'Aquila in April of 2009 which caused a lot of damage and also several casualties," says Jessica Turner with the USGS.

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SOURCE: The Associated Press | CNN | Reuters