A series of aftershocks rattled rescuers and residents racing to find survivors following a massive earthquake in central Italy as the death toll jumped overnight to 267.
Aftershocks sent rescuers and journalists running from buildings Thursday as the ground shook again in the hard-hit town of Amatrice.
“People were just running onto the roads away from buildings in a panic. We saw our cameras shaking, and journalists here too were panicking,” said CNN producer Margot Haddad.
After Wednesday’s 6.2-magnitude quake that reduced villages to rubble, the US Geological Survey recorded a series of aftershocks ranging between magnitude 4.1 and 4.7.
Girl rescued
Despite hampered efforts, there was some good news Thursday.
A girl who endured nearly 17 hours in the rubble has undergone surgery and is doing well, Italian national news agency ANSA said.
After mostly pulling bodies from the rubble, rescue crews in Pescara del Tronto were overjoyed Wednesday evening to hear what sounded like the cries of a survivor.
“Quiet! Quiet,” they said, getting closer to the source of the sound.
The scene was captured on video by CNN affiliate Sky TG24.
A firefighter clawed at the debris, trying to get to her. “Come on. … Come on. Slowly, slowly. Mind her head,” they said as onlookers applauded in support.
Suddenly there was a foot, a leg, and then the other leg.
The girl, later identified as 8-year-old Giorgia, was finally pulled out with great care to a rousing cheer. The body of her sister, 10, was next to her, ANSA said.
Rescuers are desperate to find survivors of this week’s quake that injured more than 360 people in central Italy.
The Italian Council of Ministers approved a state of emergency for the regions affected by the earthquake Thursday, allocating 50 million euros of emergency funding.
It was more bad news for rescuers, who have been desperately combing through mountains of rubble for a second day. Wednesday’s quake blocked off narrow streets in ancient towns, making the rescue operation extremely difficult.
With heavy lifting equipment just starting to reach isolated villages and towns that were cut off by landslides and building debris, people used tractors, farm equipment and simple hand tools to break through what was left of old stone villas.
No happy stories here
Giorgia’s survival is sadly an anomaly so far in the massive rescue operation, which involves more than 5,400 rescuers from Italy’s Civil Protection agency, and many more from outside groups.
In Saletta, a town of just 20 homes less than a mile from the quake’s epicenter, the story was grim.
“We saw unfortunately only bodies pulled out,” CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau said from the village, where 22 people were killed.
Amatrice ‘is no more,’ says mayor
Italy is no stranger to deadly quakes.
In May 2012, a pair of earthquakes killed dozens of people in northern Italy, while in April 2009, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit the Aquila region of central Italy, killing 295. The earthquake Wednesday struck an area close to the 2009 disaster.
The towns at the epicenter of the quake — Amatrice, Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto — are scenes of devastation, with what were once charming three-story buildings pancaked by the disaster.
The towns, situated amid remote, mountainous terrain, are particularly popular in the summer with tourists seeking a scenic getaway from the heat of the city.
Amatrice, known for its traditional all’amatriciana pasta sauce, had been gearing up to hold a festival celebrating the pork jowl, chili and pecorino recipe this weekend, with many visitors expected.