Italians shelter in cars after deadly quake

ITALY: Several thousand Italians spent the night in cars or temporary shelters after a strong earthquake hit the northeast Sunday, killing six people and reducing homes and historic buildings to rubble.

Emergency services said dozens had also been injured in the magnitude 6.0 quake, which struck the densely-populated industrial Emilia Romagna region in the middle of the night, sending panicked residents running into the streets.

Fearful of staying in weakened buildings, hundreds of people spent the night in their cars while others took shelter in temporary accommodation where local authorities provided beds, tables and chairs.

Prime Minister Mario Monti left early from the United States, where he was attending a NATO summit, following the quake which struck at 0200 GMT Sunday and a deadly school attack on Saturday.

The disaster hit just over three years after a 6.3 magnitude quake devastated the central city of l’Aquila in March 2009, killing some 300 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

During the night at least 24 aftershocks were felt in the area, at least four of them with a magnitude of at least 3, while heavy rain fell.

Four of the dead were night-shift workers in factories which collapsed, including two people who were crushed when the roof of a ceramics factory caved in the town of Sant’Agostino.

AFP