Carabinieri police have deployed
430 officers in earthquake-stricken central Italy, including 30
'monuments men' from Italy's new cultural defence blue helmets
who are assessing the extent of the damage to local monuments,
officials said Thursday.
"The blue helmets have gone into action for the first
time," said Brigadier General Marco Minicucci, who added the
unit's baptism of fire was supposed to be in the Syrian city of
Palmyra, which has been destroyed by Islamic fundamentalists.
As well, the carabinieri force has deployed a special
forensic unit for the identification of victims who have not
been claimed by relatives. That unit also went into action in
Thailand after a deadly 2004 tsunami.
The total of 430 officers "went in support of their
colleagues stationed at Amatrice, Accumoli, and Arquata, who
immediately turned out to aid the population as soon as the
first earthquake hit at 03:36 (on Wednesday)," the general told
a press conference.
The mountain villages of Amatrice, Accumoli, and Arquata
were the hardest hit by the quake, which has flattened them and
killed hundreds.
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