Death toll from Italy earthquake rises
The death toll from a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in northern Italy rose to 17 after the discovery of another body, officials said Wednesday, as questions were asked about why factory buildings collapsed, CNN reported.
The latest body was found in the rubble of the collapsed factory in the area of Medolla, Italy's civil protection agency said.
The prosecutor's office in the province of Modena, where the quake was centered, opened an investigation Wednesday into the cause of death of the quake victims, many of whom were factory workers.
Modena's chief prosecutor, Vito Zincani, told CNN that as modern buildings, they should have remained standing.
Most of the modern structures in the area were not damaged, he said, so the fact that some factories collapsed "shows an anomaly that needs investigation."
The earthquake, which forced thousands of people from their homes, came nine days after a 6.0-magnitude quake struck the same region, killing seven people.
Tuesday's quake, which struck at about 9 a .m. local when many people had begun work, was followed by dozens of aftershocks.