CNN- L'AQUILA, Italy – Rescue workers using bare hands and buckets searched frantically for students believed buried in a wrecked dormitory after Italy's deadliest quake in nearly three decades struck this medieval city before dawn Monday, killing more than 150 people, injuring 1,500 (Click for map view of where quake struck) and leaving tens of thousands homeless. The 6.3-magnitude earthquake buckled both ancient and modern buildings in and around L'Aquila, snuggled in a valley surrounded by the snowcapped Apennines' tallest peaks.
It also took a severe toll on the centuries-old castles and churches in the mountain stronghold d
ating from the Middle Ages, and the Culture Ministry drew up a list of landmarks that were damaged, including collapsed bell towers and cupolas.
The quake, centered near L'Aquila about 70 miles northeast of Rome, struck at 3:32 a.m. Monday, followed by a series of aftershocks that continued into Tuesday morning.
Firefighters with dogs and a crane worked feverishly to reach people trapped in fallen buildings, including a dormitory of the University of L'Aquila where a half- dozen students were believed trapped inside.
After nightfall Monday, rescuers found a scared-looking dog with a bleeding paw in the half-collapsed dorm. Relatives and friends of the missing stood wrapped in blankets or huddled under umbrellas in the rain as rescuers found pieces of furniture, photographs, wallets and diaries, but none of the missing.
The body of a male student was found during the daylight hours.
"We managed to come down with other students but we had to sneak through a hole in the stairs as
the whole floor came down," said Luigi Alfonsi, 22, his eyes filling with tears and his hands trembling. "I was in bed — it was like it would never end as I heard pieces of the building collapse around me."
Another another body was pulled from the dormitory rubble early Tuesday morning, but no further details were immediately available.
Twice after midnight, rescuers were forced to briefly retreat from the scene when aftershocks dislodged more building rubble.
Elsewhere in town, firefighters reported pulling a 21-year-old woman and a 22-year-man from a pancaked five-story apartment building where many students had rented flats.
It also took a severe toll on the centuries-old castles and churches in the mountain stronghold d
ating from the Middle Ages, and the Culture Ministry drew up a list of landmarks that were damaged, including collapsed bell towers and cupolas.The quake, centered near L'Aquila about 70 miles northeast of Rome, struck at 3:32 a.m. Monday, followed by a series of aftershocks that continued into Tuesday morning.
Firefighters with dogs and a crane worked feverishly to reach people trapped in fallen buildings, including a dormitory of the University of L'Aquila where a half- dozen students were believed trapped inside.
After nightfall Monday, rescuers found a scared-looking dog with a bleeding paw in the half-collapsed dorm. Relatives and friends of the missing stood wrapped in blankets or huddled under umbrellas in the rain as rescuers found pieces of furniture, photographs, wallets and diaries, but none of the missing.
The body of a male student was found during the daylight hours.
"We managed to come down with other students but we had to sneak through a hole in the stairs as
the whole floor came down," said Luigi Alfonsi, 22, his eyes filling with tears and his hands trembling. "I was in bed — it was like it would never end as I heard pieces of the building collapse around me."Another another body was pulled from the dormitory rubble early Tuesday morning, but no further details were immediately available.
Twice after midnight, rescuers were forced to briefly retreat from the scene when aftershocks dislodged more building rubble.
Elsewhere in town, firefighters reported pulling a 21-year-old woman and a 22-year-man from a pancaked five-story apartment building where many students had rented flats.
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