Afghan asylum seeker’s body removed from Italy quake rubble

ROME (Reuters) – The body of an Afghan asylum seeker living in Amatrice, the town worst hit by last month’s earthquake, was pulled from the rubble of the home where he had been living, Italy’s national fire rescue service said on Monday.

The Aug. 24 quake killed almost 300 people when it struck in the middle of the night. More than 200 of the dead were in Amatrice.

Sayed, who was living in a state-funded shelter in Amatrice, was the only one of four people sleeping in the home on the night of the earthquake who was killed, Corriere della Sera newspaper reported. The others managed to escape.

Sayed’s brother Zia, who lives in Austria, was present as emergency workers searched for the body today, fire service spokesman Luca Cari said. He could not provide the brothers’ last name.

Sayed came to Italy fleeing war in Afghanistan, and had requested asylum. He had three children still living in Afghanistan, Corriere said.

Though he had found work in northern Italy as a pizzaiolo, or pizza maker, he had delayed his departure to participate in the annual Amatrice festival for its signature “amatriciana” pasta sauce, the newspaper said.

The festival was due to be held the weekend after the earthquake hit.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer and Antonella Cinelli; Editing by Catherine Evans)