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4 students located in quake-hit dorm in Italy

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-07 23:39

L'AQUILA, Italy -- Firefighters say they have located four students trapped in a dormitory that crumbled in Italy's devastating earthquake but did not say if they were alive or dead.

Italian firefighters work on the collapsed university dorm building known as the 'Casa dello Studente' (student home) after a major earthquake in L 'Aquila, central Italy, early Tuesday, April 7, 2009. [Agencies]

Related readings:  Italy quake killed 207, hurt about 1,000  Strong quake in Italy kills over 150, wounds 1,500  Strong quake struck central Italy  Strong quake hits Italy, injuries feared in Aquila

Chief firefighter Sergio Basti says rescue crews are evacuating the area around the dorm because they plan to begin "surgically" removing big chunks of the building to reach the four students.

Asked if the students were alive, Basti said only that in his experience he had found people alive after 14 days.

He said Tuesday that rescue crews needed to "lighten" the building to reach the four since they are in a hard-to-reach spot. Several dozen rescue crews are at the scene of the collapsed building.