We return to smile in Ischia after hours of anguish and pain. At 13.10 the firefighters pulled out Ciro, the second of the two little brothers who were trapped under the rubble of their house which had collapsed in Casamicciola due to the 4.0 magnitude earthquake that hit the Neapolitan island at 20.57 on 21 August.
The whole family is fine: the wife, first extracted, the husband, the two brothers aged 11 and 7, Ciro and Mattias, and the youngest, the seven-month-old Pasquale.
In the meantime, the first confirmations on the numbers arrive: two victims, one hit by the rubble of a church, another overwhelmed by the rubble of her house. 39 confirmed injuries (one of which was very serious) and 2.600 displaced persons: 2.000 in Casamicciola, 600 in Lacco Ameno. According to the budget announced by the head of the civil protection department, Angelo Borrelli, 1.051 people have left the island. The mayors try to reassure tourists on vacation: “Localized collapses, false that they are all over the island. No earthquake-illegal link", but the geologists point out that these are "non-normal collapses for a magnitude 4 earthquake".
The data on the earthquake reiterated: magnitude 4.0, epicenter one km from Punta Imperatore, on the western side of the island, depth of only ten km.
The Rizzoli hospital in Lacco Ameno, which was initially evacuated, is back in operation.
The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella telephoned the first citizens of Casamicciola and Lacco Ameno to express his condolences for the victims and solidarity and closeness to the population and undertook to visit, when possible, the affected municipalities and assured the his focus on reconstruction.
#Ischia Italy unites in pain for the victims and in solidarity. We are all alongside the forces involved in the relief efforts
— Paolo Gentiloni (@PaoloGentiloni) August 22th, 2017
