Italy Probes Whether Negligence Played Role In Quake Toll

AMATRICE, Italy (AP) — Italian authorities are vowing to investigate whether negligence or fraud in adhering to building codes played a role in the high death toll in last week's earthquake in Italy. After an entire first-grade class and a teacher were killed in a 2002 quake in the southern town of San Giuliano di Puglia, Italian officials had pledged citizens that safety of schools, hospitals and other critical public buildings would be guaranteed. Deadly quakes that have led to criminal investigations of suspicions ranging from misuse of funds or corruption involving awarding of construction contracts include the 1980 temblor in the Naples area and a 2009 quake in L'Aquila, central Italy. Italy's national museums, meanwhile, embarked on a fundraising campaign, donating their proceeds Sunday to relief and reconstruction efforts in the quake-stricken areas. Besides homes and low-rise apartment buildings, Wednesday's quake badly damaged scores of churches, town halls, bell towers and other centuries-old cultural treasures. The quake left a few thousands of people without homes, with nearly 2,700 hosted in a total of 58 tent "towns" set up on the outskirts of the ravaged areas, or improvised shelters, like a gym with a basketball court in Amatrice.

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