Dozens dead and thousands left homeless by Italy earthquake.

Dozens dead and thousands left homeless by Italy earthquake

by: Anne Barrowclough

At least 27 people, including five children were killed when an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale destroyed hundreds of homes in central Italy early this morning.

Scores more are missing after the earthquake struck at 3.32am (0132 GMT) near l'Aquila in the mountainous region of Abruzzo 60 miles (95 kilometres) north of Rome.

Dawn revealed a scene of devastation in the town, the epicentre of the earthquake, as rubble blocked the streets and rescue workers desperately searched for survivors in the ruins of the collapsed buildings.

The death toll rose through the night and is expected to keep rising, according to police.

At least half a dozen university students remain trapped after their dormitory in l'Aquila was destroyed, according to Italy's RAI TV. A student who was not named told RAI they were awakened by the earthquake and ran down the stairs of the dormitory before the roof collapsed.

Police confirmed that five people were killed in the small town of Castelnuovo, and four children died in hospital in l'Aquila, three miles from the quake's epicenter, according to the Italian news agency ANSA. An elderly woman and a child were also crushed when their home collapsed in the nearby town of Fossa.

The earthquake would claim "many victims", public safety chief Guido Bertolaso told ANSA.

"Thousands of people (could be left) homeless and thousands of buildings collapsed or damaged," Agostino Miozzo, an official at the civil protection ministry, added.

The centre of L'Aquila, a town of about 70,000 inhabitants, had been hard hit, Italian journalist Paulo Pacitti told the BBC.

"All the people are now on the road, queuing - trying to reach a safe area," he said

British residents in the region told how the ground "felt like jelly" as their houses were shaken violently in the early hours.

Matthew Peacock, who lives with his wife and child in the Umbrian town of Amelia, around 60 miles north of Rome, said he woke up around 2.30am UK time feeling a "very significant shaking".

He told Sky News: "It was quite an extraordinary experience.

"I live in a big old stone house with walls a metre thick. It felt like the house was being shaken from the rooftop - my bed was banging against the wall and you could hear this creaking.

"I rushed across the hallway to my son, who's five, grabbed him and stood underneath the doorway. The shaking went on for 20 seconds or so."

Mr Peacock, who said he felt two or three aftershocks after the initial quake, added: "The earth really felt like jelly underneath.

Another Briton living in Monte San Marino, a small town in the Apennine mountain range 60 miles to the north east of L'Aquila, said he also woke up to find the house shaking.

Barry Raven told Sky News: "It continued to shake for about 30 seconds.

"When you felt it you were thinking 'Is this the beginning or is this the end?' "

The earthquake, which was also felt in Rome, was the latest in a series of tremors that have shook Italy's north central region since Sunday. It struck at a depth of six miles (10 kilometres), the US Geological Survey said on its website.

It came hours after a 4.6 magnitude tremor struck in Ravenna, in the north west on Sunday night.

Italy is criss-crossed by two fault lines, with some 20 million people at risk from earthquakes.

A powerful earthquake in the region claimed 13 lives in 1997 and damaged or destroyed priceless cultural heritage.

The most recent major earthquake, in October 2002, killed 30 people including 27 pupils and their teacher who were crushed under their schoolhouse in the tiny medieval village of San Giuliano di Puglia.

SOURCE OF THIS HOTTEST NEWS

"This story is alarming. I pray that victims will be rescued as soon as possible."

Alex Da Silva's Arrest

Celebrity choreographer Alex Da Silva arrested

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police have arrested a choreographer featured on the FOX television show "So You Think You Can Dance" on suspicion of sexually assaulting four of his dance students.

Officer Jason Lee says Alex Da Silva was taken into custody Saturday and held on $3.8 million bail.

Detectives say the alleged assaults occurred between May 2003 and March 28. The female accusers told police Da Silva lured them to his homes in North Hollywood and Van Nuys, used a ruse to get them into his bedroom and raped them.

It's not immediately known whether the 41-year-old Da Silva has retained an attorney. The voicemail for a phone number posted on his Web site was full and wouldn't accept messages.

SOURCE OF THIS NEWS

"I do not know yet if I believe this news. However, given it the benefit of the doubt, I would suggest to give both the victims and the accused a non-judgmental attitude by the readers until all has been cleared out. After all, both parties deserved to be heard first. I just hope everything will come out clear and justified in the end."

Jiverly Voong, shooting in Binghamton, New York

Shooting in Binghamton, N.Y.

By Katharine Q. Seelye

Hostages exit a building near the American Civic Association in downtown Binghamton, N.Y., following a shooting spree by a gunman Friday April 3, 2009. A law enforcement official says the gunman who killed at least 12 people in Binghamton, N.Y., died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

For more information and further developments, please see the main news article on this event on out Web site, which will be updated as the evening goes on.

Updated | 7:59 p.m. A law-enforcement official said that Mr. Wong had a New York State pistol license that listed two pistols, a 45-caliber Beretta and a 9-mm Beretta. The authorities matched the serial numbers of two guns found with the gunman’s body to the serial numbers on his license. The authorities were trying to trace the guns to determine where Mr. Wong obtained them and their history.

"Such a horrific news. I wonder what was going on in the murderer's mind, killing these twelve people. And killing himself, too. News like this is sickening but should serve as an awakening to all of us. Does this follow that there are lots of people who are very disturbed that needs more caring from others? I do not know really or exactly, but what I understand is that maybe, if we can be more caring to more people, maybe, just maybe, lesser crimes like this will ever take place."