Asylum seeker's body found in Italy rubble

The body of an Afghan asylum seeker has been found in the rubble of a home brought down by last month's earthquake in Italy.

The body of an Afghan asylum seeker living in Amatrice, the town worst hit by last month's earthquake, was pulled from the rubble of the home where he had been living, Italy's national fire rescue service says.

The August 24 quake killed almost 300 people when it struck in the middle of the night. More than 200 of the dead were in Amatrice.

Sayed, who was living in a state-funded shelter in Amatrice, was the only one of four people sleeping in the home on the night of the earthquake who was killed, Corriere della Sera newspaper reported. The others managed to escape.

Sayed's brother Zia, who lives in Austria, was present as emergency workers searched for the body today, fire service spokesman Luca Cari said. He could not provide the brothers' last name.

Sayed came to Italy fleeing war in Afghanistan, and had requested asylum. He had three children still living in Afghanistan, Corriere said.

Though he had found work in northern Italy as a pizzaiolo, or pizza maker, he had delayed his departure to participate in the annual Amatrice festival for its signature "amatriciana" pasta sauce, the newspaper said.

The festival was due to be held the weekend after the earthquake hit.


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world