Desperate search for missing earthquake victims

Rescuers are desperately trying to rescue children thought to be trapped under the rubble of a kindergarden in the village of…

Rescuers are desperately trying to rescue children thought to be trapped under the rubble of a kindergarden in the village of San Giuliano di Puglia in southern Italy.

The building that housed the kindergarden collapsed following an earthquake that hit the area earlier today.A desperate rescue operation is now underway with officials saying as many as 20 more children and their teachers could still be trapped under the rubble.

Around 20 children and one teacher have been brought out alive by rescue workers, with eight of the children said to be in "serious" condition.

About 50 sniffer dogs have been deployed to help in the search.

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Rescue services described the situation as "very critical" after the quake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale struck.

Authorities had earlier said that some 100 people could have been trapped under ruins.

The body of an elderly woman was also recovered from a house in San Giuliano di Puglia, according to firefighters.

RAI television that another woman, in her 40s, also died in the quake, but there has been no official confirmation.

Images broadcast on RAI television showed the school building completely destroyed with emergency workers, along with a mechanical digger, working to free those trapped.

RAI reported that some 57 pupils, seven teachers and two other employees, were inside the building at the time of the quake.

The road into the village has been blocked to all traffic except for emergency vehicles.

The government declared a "state of emergency" in Campobasso province to speed the release of funds and other resources including army assistance.

Reports said there could also be people trapped inside a vehicle in San Giuliano that was crushed when a nearby building fell apart from the force of the quake, which came after days of tremors on the island of Sicily near Mount Etna.

Today's earthquake rocked the eastern coastal region, damaging buildings in San Giuliano and nearby villages Bonefro, Larino, Santa Croce di Magliano and Colletorto.

It was followed by six aftershocks with a strength of around 3.2 between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Mr Enzo Boschi, president of Italy's national geophysics institute, said the tremor was the strongest ever to have struck the area.

Buildings in the historic centre of Campobasso collapsed as the quake rumbled through the region, and the interior ministry said helicopters and at least 200 rescue workers had been dispatched.

In Campania, the quake brought back vivid memories of the major earthquake that hit the region in 1980, killing 2,735 people and injuring 8,800.

The government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was holding a cabinet meeting to discuss emergency aid to quake-struck Sicily when news of the latest earthquake came in.

The government announced €15 million in aid for Sicily, after the eruption of Mount Etna on Sunday followed by a quake measuring 4.3 on Tuesday.

Etna appeared to have calmed today, but continued spouting ash into the air, covering the area.

AFP