by Alessandra Cardone
ROME, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Three children, including a seven-month-old infant, were pulled alive from rubble in Italy's Ischia Island on Tuesday after an earthquake hit on Monday, killing 2 people and wounding 42.
Rescuers worked around the clock to reach the three brothers, and were able to save the youngest one during the night. The baby boy was unharmed, and reportedly in good health conditions.
The second child, seven-year-old, was rescued some 16 hours after the quake. Finally, firefighters pulled out the third brother, eleven, on Tuesday afternoon local time.
The three children were among a family of seven, who had remained trapped under a collapsed building. All of them were saved, including the children's parents.
The temblor struck at 8:57 p.m. local time on Monday at a depth of about 5 km off Ischia, which lies in the Gulf of Naples, the Italian National Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (INGV) stated.
Two people lost their life.
A 59-year-old woman was killed by falling debris in the collapse of a church in the municipality of Casamicciola Terme, the Civil Protection agency confirmed. She was a resident of the island, and mother of six, according to Italy's Ansa news agency.
The second victim was a woman of 65 from northern Italy who was spending holiday in Ischia. Her body was spotted under the rubble of a collapsed house, spokesperson for the Fire Dept. Luca Cari confirmed to Italian TV news channel Sky TG24.
Overall, some 42 people were injured in the quake, the local health service in Naples said in a statement on Tuesday.
Sixteen of them needed hospitalization, and one was admitted to Naples' Cardarelli hospital since Monday night due to critical conditions.
Some 2,000 people were evacuated from Casamicciola and 600 people from Lacco Ameno, which were the hardest-hit municipalities on the island, Civil Protection chief Angelo Borrelli told a press conference.
At least 1,051 tourists were brought to the town of Pozzuoli early on Tuesday night, and assisted by the Italian Red Cross.
Extra ferries from Naples had in fact been organized since after the seismic event to allow frightened tourists to leave Ischia as soon as possible, and to bring in relief teams.
Some fire crews were already on the island to put out blazes when the quake struck, and intervened immediately, while further rescuers were dispatched from Naples, the nearest large city, and from Tuscany and Lazio regions, according to Fire Dept. chief Bruno Frattasi.
"Firefighter crews are to carry out specific checks on the (local) hotel facilities, to assess their stability and see if it is possible to host those displaced there, starting from tonight," Borrelli told reporters in a briefing early on Tuesday.
The official added the authorities "hoped" tent cities would not be necessary to provide an accommodation to the evacuated people.
Ischia is a very popular touristic destination among Italians and foreigners. The island counts 20,000 residents, but its average population is estimated in about 50,000 people.
