Young girl pulled alive from earthquake rubble in Italy

Amatrice (Italy), Aug 25 (IANS/AKI) A rescue team pulled a 10-year-old girl alive from the rubble of a house in town of Pescara del Tronto, 18 hours after it was flattened by a devastating earthquake in Italy's central Apennines. The schoolgirl, named Giulia, was rescued late on Wednesday amid cheering but 90 percent of the earthquake victims are being pulled out dead from beneath the rubble, according to rescuers. A total of at least 241 people were confirmed to have been killed in the magnitude 6.2 quake which struck the border region between Lazio, Umbria and Marche early Wednesday, Italy's civil protection agency said on Wednesday. Several mountainside towns including Pescara del Tronto and Amatrice were destroyed by the earthquake whose epicentre was near Accumoli in the northern Lazio province of Rieti, an area popular with holiday-makers. The death-toll was expected to rise further amid fears of landslides, concerns over the amount of specialised equipment available to rescuers, complaints in some villages that search teams have been slow to arrive despite a massive rescue and relief effort. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was holding a Cabinet meeting on Thursday to agree measures to help the affected communities.