Second deadly quake hits Italy

SAN FELICE SUL PANARO, Italy -- Workers at the small machinery company had just returned for their first shift following Italy's powerful and deadly earthquake earlier this month when another one struck Tuesday morning, collapsing the roof.

At least three employees at the factory -- two immigrants and an Italian engineer checking the building's stability -- were among those killed in the second deadly quake in nine days to strike a region of Italy that hadn't considered itself particularly quake prone.

By late Tuesday, the death toll stood at 17, with several people still missing, including a worker at the machinery factory in the small town of San Felice Sul Panoro. Some 200 people also were injured in the 5.8-magnitude quake north of Bologna in Emilia Romagna, one of Italy's more productive regions, agriculturally and industrially.

Factories, barns and churches fell, dealing a second blow to a region where thousands remained homeless from the May 20 temblor, much stronger in intensity, at 6.0 magnitude.

The two quakes struck one of the most productive regions in Italy at a particularly crucial moment, as the country faces enormous pressure to grow its economy to stave off the continent's debt crisis. Italy's economic growth has been stagnant for at least a decade, and the national economy is forecast to contract by 1.2 per cent this year.

The area encompassing the cities of Modena, Mantua and Bologna is prized for its super-car production, churning out Ferraris, Maseratis and Lamborghinis; its world-famous Parmesan cheese and less well-known but critical to the economy: machinery companies.

Like the May 20 quake, many of the dead in Tuesday's temblor were workers inside huge warehouses, many of them prefabricated, that house factories. Inspectors have been determining which are safe to re-enter, but economic pressure has sped up renewed production -- perhaps prematurely.

Seven people were killed in the May 20 quake. In both, the dead were largely and disproportionately workers killed by collapsing factories and warehouses.

Co-workers of Mohamed Azeris, a Moroccan immigrant and father of two who died in the just-reopened factory, claim he was forced back to work as a shift supervisor or faced losing his job. A local union representative had demanded an investigation.

"Another earthquake -- unfortunately during the day -- that means people were inside working, so I think that an investigation will need to be opened here to check who cleared as safe these companies to understand who's responsible for this," Erminio Veronesi told The Associated Press.

At another factory closer to the epicentre in in the city of Medolla, rescue crews searched for three workers who did not turn up at roll call after the quake and were presumed dead.

Premier Mario Monti, tapped to steer the country from financial ruin in November, pledged the government would quickly provide help to the area "that is so special, so important and so productive for Italy."

The Coldiretti farm lobby said damage to the agricultural industry, including Parmesan makers whose aging wheels of cheese already suffered in the first quake, had risen to 500 million euros ($626 million) with the second hit. The Modena Chamber of Commerce estimated the first quake alone had cost businesses 1.5 million euros, with no fresh estimates immediately available.

Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini, all centred around Modena, reported no damage and said workers were evacuated and then allowed to go home to check on their homes and families. Lamborghini planned to keep production halted today.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 30, 2012 A11