Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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April 7, 2009

Aftershocks Hit Italian City as Death Toll Rises
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2369AA1:A6F02AD83191E16050DFCD5A6946C527C030207A0BD70133&
 
4.9 magnitude aftershock felt as far away as Rome; death toll surpasses
200 
Firefighters and rescuers carry out a body from the rubble of a
collapsed university dorm building in L'Aquila, central Italy, 07 Apr
2009Aftershocks have rocked the devastated central Italian city of
L'Aquila, as the death toll from Monday's earthquake climbed past 200.A
4.9 magnitude aftershock, felt more than 100 kilometers away in Rome,
sent rescue personnel scrambling. Workers and survivors in the walled
city had been frantically clawing and shoveling through mounds of rubble
searching for victims of the quake. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
says 207 people are known dead with 15 others still missing. He says 150
people have been pulled alive from the rubble of the city since the
quake struck hours before sunrise Monday. Mr. Berlusconi has promised
that no one will be abandoned. He canceled a planned trip to Russia and
declared a state of emergency in the Abruzzo region, where a number of
towns and villages were severely damaged or flattened. Italy's national
police chief Antonio Maganelli said authorities have arrested several
looters picking through abandoned houses. U.S. scientists measured the
initial quake at magnitude 6.3.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.


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