Tax police on Wednesday raided public agencies and firms in a probe into the renovation of a school in the Lazio mountain village of Amatrice which collapsed in last week's devastating earthquake. They seized documents on the project from the agencies who authorised the renovation and the firms that carried it out, sources said. Police from the Finance Guards' anti-corruption unit and tax police units are carrying out the searches in Rieti, Turin and Bari at the offices of the regional and provincial governments as well as the civil engineers' office and the offices of the companies involved.
It is "premature" to speak of "suspects" in the probe, Rieti Chief Prosecutor Giuseppe Saieva told a press conference Wednesday. "At the moment it's premature to speak of suspects, for now we are
starting with the documents," he said. "Until we have sufficient elements to name suspects the proceedings remain against person or persons unknown". He said the probe must be based on acquiring documents and technical assessments.
"Right now there aren't even official data indicating the number of buildings that collapsed so it's premature to talk about verifying tests as well".
Meanwhile A 23-year-old man living in Amatrice died in Pescara hospital Wednesday of injuries sustained in the August 24 tremor, raising the death toll to 293. Sardinia-born Filippo Sanna, who lived in Amatrice with his parents and sister, was underneath the rubble for hours before being flown to hospital in a helicopter. The 6.2-magnitude quake devastated Amatrice and Accumoli in Lazio and Arquata del Tronto in Marche. Some 232 people were killed in Amatrice, 11 in Accumoli and 50 in Arquata.
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