Facing growing public anger, Italy launched a criminal probe today into the devastating earthquake which claimed the lives of 29 people, most of them children crushed to death.
Fresh tremors shook the region as grief-stricken residents of San Giuliano di Puglia emerged from a night sleeping in makeshift tents after being ordered to evacuate their medieval hilltop village.
Twenty-six young children and a teacher were killed during a Hallowe'en party when the village's primary school building was flattened by Thursday's quake, which measured 5.4 on the Richter scale. Another two women were killed in their homes.
Local prosecutors said they were looking into possible manslaughter charges over the disaster, with angry villagers demanding answers over allegations the school was not sturdy enough to withstand earthquakes.
"This is an abnormal situation," said one prosecutor, adding that no-one has yet been placed under formal investigation over the tragedy.
Mr Enzo Boschi, head of Italy's national geophysics institute, has accused some local officials of failing to abide by legislation for earthquake zones, warning: "There will be other tragedies."
Some villagers booed Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi when he visited the disaster scene late Thursday, while anger also mounted against local lawmakers deemed responsible for the fragile state of the building.
Most of the victims were buried under the old part of the building, built in 1953, while those in a newer section which opened last September survived.
One rescuer said the older part had been poorly built.
"They made the top part of the building in cement and reinforced its roof with cement as well. This part crashed onto the walls, which were made of small bricks and couldn't withstand the weight," he said.
A special mass is due to be held later today followed by a funeral tomorrow at the school gymnasium that became a makeshift morgue for the young victims and prayer chapel.
"I will be there tomorrow to show solidarity with the families," Italian President Caro Azeglio Ciampi said.
Italian seismologists said more than 140 tremors had shaken the region since Thursday, the latest early this morning. One big aftershock, measuring 5.1, hit yesterday, causing panic on the streets and injuring three people, according to RAI television.
AFP