Some 314 local high-school students
have turned into 'mud angels' and are leading clean-up and
search efforts on Ischia after a massive landslide left eight
dead and four still missing on the Bay of Naples island.
The students have been told they may have to give up their
efforts and return to distance learning Thursday but local
officials at the small towns of Casamicciola and Lacco have
asked for them to be given an extension of their mud-sifting
duties.
The term 'mud angel' was first used for the hundreds of students
who helped the massive relief effort after disastrous floods in
Florence in 1966.
The death toll from Saturday's landslide on the Gulf of Naples
island of Ischia rose to eight this week when the body of
another victim, a 15-year-old boy, was recovered, as rescue
workers continued the search for four people who are missing.
The eighth victim was named as Michele Monti.
The bodies of his younger siblings, Francesco and Maria Teresa,
were found on Sunday and his parents, Gianluca Monti and
Valentina Castagna, are among the people who are unaccounted
for.
A newborn baby is also among the confirmed victims of the
disaster.
Five people are injured and 230 are homeless after a massive
avalanche of mud and debris hit the town of Casamicciola Terme
following intense rain.
On Sunday Premier Giorgia Meloni's cabinet declared a state of
emergency on the island and approved an initial allocation of
two million euros in funding to address the aftermath of the
landslide.
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