Landslide in Ischia: 13 missing. Man rescued and rescued from mud

Thirteen people are missing in Ischia after a large mass of water, mud and debris poured into the sea in Casamicciola, overwhelming everything in its path. Dozens of cars were dragged by the lava flow which found its outlet in Piazzale Anna De Felice, named after the girl who lost her life overwhelmed by the mud 13 years ago in that area. The landslides have overwhelmed some houses whose occupants are currently unknown. According to Benedetto Valentino, entrepreneur and patron of the Ischia prize who lives in Casamicciola Terme, “the landslide started from a large tuff rock that had always been there. The boulder caused the landslide that literally invaded the Rarone area and dragged down four-five houses, two of which are civic ones in via Celario, literally invaded by mud”. According to his testimony, another landslide occurred on the slope of the Piazza Maio area which was the epicenter of the 2017 earthquake, which invaded the entire underlying area of ​​Piazza Bagni reaching as far as the marina, at Piazzale Anna De Felice”.

The rescue

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”It is a tragedy, the number of missing persons is still uncertain in Casamicciola – affirms the mayor of Ischia, Enzo Ferrandino -. Due to the bad weather on the island of Ischia we also have other situations of localized difficulty, but fortunately in this case not particularly serious, such as flooding and other situations that can be treated and contained”. Road traffic is blocked and relief efforts are struggling to reach the points most affected by the flood. The cars and even some parked minibuses ended up in the sea and the port of Casamicciola is currently closed. The areas most affected by the flood are those of piazza Bagni, piazza Maio and Rarone: here the greatest number of landslides is recorded and given that several houses can only be reached via narrow and impervious streets, the rescuers have not been able to control them for the moment all and ascertain the real extent of damage to people as well as to homes. The first confirmed missing persons are a family of three, a husband, wife and a newborn baby, and a 25-year-old girl. However, the number of missing people increased as the hours passed.

Rescue

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In Casamicciola the firefighters rescued a man who had been overwhelmed by the mud and was unable to save himself; taken to hospital Rizzoli is fine and should be discharged shortly. All the police forces and volunteers available on the island have gone to the affected areas of the municipality and are providing relief.