News / More / News Bulletin

Rescue operation underway as 10 die in surge of white-water creek in Italy

Monday, 20 August 2018 11:08 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 20 August 2018 11:12 PM ]

Rescuers are seen at the Raganello Gorge, a popular hiking spot in Civita, a village in the Italian Calabria southern region on August 20, 2018. (AFP)

At least 10 people were killed in southern Italy on Monday, August 20, when the level of a raging white-water creek in a deep mountain gorge swelled suddenly after heavy rainfall upstream, officials said.

The civil protection department said 18 people were rescued and six of those were injured in the flash rush of water in the Calabria region.

Head of the civil protection unit for Calabria, Carlo Tansi said people had been shot out of the gorge like bullets as it had filled with water. Some people were found 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) down the valley. Prosecutor Eugenio Facciolla said the terrain was very difficult to work in, particularly at night.

Rescuers and citizens wait in the central square of Civita, a village in the Italian Calabria southern region on August 20, 2018. (AFP)

It was not clear how many people were missing because not all had entered the gorge with official guides and registered. Spotlights were brought to the area so the search could continue during the night.

The nationalities of the dead and injured were not immediately known. Most tourists and trekkers who visit the area, in the country's deep south, are Italian.

In some places the Raganello creek, part of the Pollino National Park, is at the bottom of a narrow, one-kilometer-deep gorge in the mountain. Rescue teams used ropes to descend the sides of the mountain to reach the site.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

Italy