Houses engulfed in mud. Family found with newborn
In the meantime, the family with the newborn was found, initially thought missing: «he is about to go to the hospital. The health facilities were activated immediately ». This was announced by the prefect of Naples, Claudio Palomba, reporting to the press on the situation. At the moment, he added, 12 are missing. There is no news of a family made up of a father, mother and two children who live upstream of Piazza Maio, in the area fully affected by the landslide and not yet reachable by public transport. rescue.
Furthermore, since yesterday evening the residents of the Casamicciola area affected by the landslide have not been able to get in touch with two immigrants who work in a commercial activity in the area. The area was completely buried in mud. The attempts of the residents to call on the cell phones of the two men were useless. In a video released on social media, a man is seen semi-submerged in water and mud, up to his back, near an iron pole as a lifeline, at the moment of his imminent rescue in Casamicciola. The man talks to the rescuers, who tell him not to move because they are about to reach him.
30 families isolated, the parish priest: I’m calling the missing
The mayor of Lacco Ameno, Giacomo Pascale, in liaison with the other mayors of the area and the prefecture, let it be known that following the landslide “there are 20-30 isolated families and about ten collapsed buildings”. “I’m trying to call some people who are reportedly missing but unfortunately I haven’t received an answer at the moment” says Don Gino Ballirano, parish priest of the church of Santa Maria Maddalena, in Casamicciola, telling Ansa he recounts the difficult moments experienced on the island after the landslide this morning. “I’m trying to get there but the road below my house is blocked by a wall of cars and trees.” Don Gino explains that the Diocese of Ischia has mobilized Caritas for the first reception.
Meloni close to the citizens. Musumeci: let’s follow the situation
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is in constant contact with Minister Musumeci, the Civil Protection Department and the Campania Region to follow the evolution of the bad weather wave that hit Ischia. The Government expresses closeness to the citizens, to the Mayors of the municipalities of the island of Ischia and thanks the rescuers engaged in the search for the missing. For his part, the Minister for Civil Protection, Nello Musumeci, also let it be known that he had “just heard from the mayor of the Municipality of Ischia to express to his colleagues the closeness of the national government”. “We are constantly following the evolution of the situation after the rain gauge on the island recorded 120 mm of rain – he explained – and what we can say at the moment is that a vast landslide upstream from Casamicciola has invaded several homes. The total number of missing persons is being defined by the coordination of the Prefecture, which is also in contact with all the mayors of the island for the preventive evacuation of other families. And the Minister of Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini: “We need to secure a country that is fragile from north to south”.
Metsola: EU Parliament close to the people of Ischia
“I learned the news of the tragic consequences caused by a landslide on the Italian island of Ischia. The European Parliament is close to all the people of Ischia on this sad day”. The president of the Eurochamber, Roberta Metsola, writes it in a tweet. “My thoughts – she adds – go to the families and friends of the victims and to all the missing people”.