08 April,2009 04:13 PM IST | | AFP
| A woman holds a child in a tent-camp set up by the civil protection agency in the village of Paganica, Italy, yesterday. Tens of thousands of people have been left homeless by Monday's earthquake. Pic/AP |
The government rushed to provide shelter for survivors who were second night away from their homes, and police were patrolling the historic town centre early today to protect abandoned apartments and businesses against looters.
A 98-year-old woman who whiled away the long hours awaiting rescue crocheting was among the lucky few saved yesterday. Another was a girl found alive after 42 hours buried in rubble.
But hopes of finding others was fading as cranes were busy pulling down unsafe buildings. Hospital sources said the morgue had taken in 228 bodies by nightfall. Officials put the toll at 235.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said 7,000 police, soldiers and other emergency service personnel and volunteers were taking part in the frantic hunt for survivors. Complicating their work, however, was a string of aftershocks that rattled L'Aquila more than a day after the initial 6.2-magnitude quake that devastated the historic mountain city and neighbouring villages.
