Bloodied Woman Seen Pleading for Help From Beneath Rubble After Italy Earthquake Kills Dozens
As the death toll continues to rise following a deadly earthquake that has rocked central Italy, shocking video has emerged of a survivor speaking to rescuers while pinned beneath rubble.
On Wednesday afternoon, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said the death toll from the 6.8-magnitude temblor had risen to 120.
A video taken in Capodacqua, one of many towns hit hard Wednesday, shows a rescuer asking a victim in Italian if she can breathe beneath the pile of cement blocks and debris.
"Only a bit," the woman responds, with her bloodied arm and part of her face visible.
“You have to stay calm. We have called in people to help remove the rubble. We are waiting for people to move the rubble. It is a formality," the rescuer says.
"But I want to go to the bathroom," is her weak reply.
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"Look, I know what I am saying is not the best thing but just pee right there," says the man.
The rescue operation was one of countless others in the region as rescue crews scramble to locate survivors in towns that were all but leveled while residents slept.
Three towns in Central Italy were all but leveled while residents slept early Wednesday. (Corpo forestale dello Stato)
Making efforts even more difficult were some 40 aftershocks that rocked the region into the early morning, some as strong as 5.1 magnitude, the Associated Press reports.
The initial death toll was fewer than 40 but quickly rose as the reality of the dire situation was revealed at dawn.
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As the day went on, officials said more than 100 are likely dead and hundreds more injured.
Rescuers put the initial death toll at fewer than 40. However, that number quickly grew as the enormity of the tragedy became clear.
One of the hardest hit towns was Amatrice, with at least 35 killed. Photos from the town of 1,000 show a wide swath in the center of town completely pancaked.
Two other towns were considered the other hardest-hit following the quake: Accumoli, 80 miles northeast of Rome, and Pescara del Tronto, some 15 miles further east.
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