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Ischia landslide death toll rises to 12 as last missing person found

AFP/The Local
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Ischia landslide death toll rises to 12 as last missing person found
Rescuers in Ischia pulled the body of the last missing person from the wreckage earlier on Tuesday. Photo by Eliano IMPERATO / AFP

Rescuers in Ischia recovered the body of the last missing person on Tuesday, bringing the landslide’s death toll to 12.

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The Italian fire service announced on Tuesday that the body of the last missing person had been found, and released a picture of rescuers at work in an area of mud and debris still strewn with personal belongings.

Italian medianamed the last victim as 31-year-old Maria Teresa Arcamone, a waitress in a popular bar in Forio on the eastern part of the island. 

According to Ansa, Arcamone was found in the Rarone car park, where most of the debris piled up during the landslide. 

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Arcamone’s in-laws Maurizio and Giovanna and her baby nephew, Giovangiuseppe, were also killed by the landslide, Ansa reported.

A wave of mud and debris swept through the small town of Casamicciola Terme on Saturday, November 26th following heavy rains, destroying houses and sweeping cars down to the sea.

READ ALSO: Landslides and earthquakes: Why Ischia – and most of Italy – is at risk

As of Tuesday many Ischia residents were reportedly still staying in hotels, awaiting the go-ahead to return home.

Geologists have already warned that bad weather risks causing further landslides on some parts of the island, which sits near Capri and is crowded with tourists over the summer.

Last Friday, authorities evacuated over 1,000 people from at-risk areas following a heavy rain alert.

Experts said the disaster was caused by a fatal mix of deforestation, overdevelopment and a lack of mitigation strategies.

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