The woman was found dead by rescue crews, as announced by the prefect of Naples, Claudio Paloba.
A woman lost her life, while about ten people were still missing yesterday, Saturday, after the landslide caused by the torrential rains on the island Ischia of Lower Italy, off Naples.
The landslide that occurred early yesterday in the small town of Casamichiola, in the northern part of the island, submerged at least one house in the mud, while cars were swept away by a wave of mud into the sea, according to Italian media and rescue services.
The first victim is a woman, who was found dead by the rescue crews, announced the prefect of Naples Claudio Palobat a press conference he gave.
Some people who were initially reported missing were later found safe and sound. Among them is a family with a newborn baby, Paloba explained. However, according to him, about ten people were still missing yesterday afternoon.
“We fear that there will be more victims, but so far the number (of victims) stands at one (dead),” he noted in statements made to AFP Luke Currya representative of the fire department.
Rescue operations were hampered by continued rain and strong winds, which also delayed the dispatch of reinforcements by ferry boats from the mainland.
The Italian Minister of the Interior Matteo Piandedosi had previously stated that several people were trapped in the mud, speaking of a “very serious” situation.
However, he had denied information from his colleague, the Minister of Infrastructure Matteo Salviniwho had earlier spoken of a death toll of eight, noting that as of that time no deaths had been confirmed, although the situation was still fluid.
Casamicciola, a winter hot spring town of 8,000 on the island of Ischia near Capri, was hit by an earthquake in 2017 that killed two people. However, the area had suffered great damage from a much stronger earthquake that had occurred there at the end of the 19th century.
Rivers of mud since yesterday’s landslide have engulfed roads, uprooted trees and swept cars on them, in some cases into the sea, according to images released by aid agencies and carried by local media.
“A house was buried” in the mud and two people were rescued from a car that drifted into the sea, the fire service said.
At least 30 families were trapped in their homes by the mud, without water or electricity, the Italian news agency ANSA reported, adding that the arterial road giving access to the neighborhood they are in has been blocked by the mud and debris.
Rescue services later said they hoped to have rescued 150 to 200 people by last night and taken them to temporary accommodation.
“Rescue operations are still being complicated by weather conditions,” the civil protection service said, noting, however, that searches would continue throughout the night with the help of searchlights.
At the same time, the local authorities had invited the inhabitants of the island to stay in their homes so as not to hinder the rescue operations.
The Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni she said she was monitoring the progress of rescue operations while calling an emergency cabinet meeting today to discuss the crisis, noting that her thoughts were with the people affected by the disaster.
This came just weeks after 11 people died in floods caused by torrential rains in the central-eastern part of Italy.
RES-EMP
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