Amatrice, Italy (CNN) A firefighter who pulled an 8-year-old girl from the rubble in central Italy after this week's earthquake devastated the region said rescuers "exploded with joy" after finding her alive. Speaking to the Italian ANSA news agency, Angelo Moroni described the moment he and other firefighters rescued Giorgia, digging through the mountains of debris with their bare hands for hours.
"At times like that you don't think, you go on for hours without feeling thirst or tiredness. We were sure she was safe only when we put her on a stretcher and doctors carried her away. Then we exploded with joy for this great result," he said.
"The joy was huge."
Giorgia's rescue has been one of the few stories of hope since the 6.2-magnitude quake struck Wednesday, killing at least 267 people and injuring 400 others. Giorgia was trapped for 17 hours under the rubble in Pescara del Tronto, one of the worst-affected villages, CNN affiliate RAI reported. Video of the rescue showed the girl emerging apparently in good condition.
But her 10-year-old sister, who was next to her, wasn't so lucky. She was killed, but the girls' parents were pulled out alive. "I hope Giorgia remembers little of this place, rather I hope she forgets everything," Moroni told ANSA. The news agency reported the girl was taken to the hospital and was recovering after undergoing surgery.
72-hour window
The death toll is climbing slowly, and it is unclear how many people remain trapped under the mounds of concrete, brick and stone. The rescue mission entered its third day Friday, still within the crucial 72-hour window in which the possibility of survival is highest.
Aftershocks have rattled rescuers and residents racing against the clock to find survivors, including again early Friday. "People were just running onto the roads away from buildings in a panic. We saw our cameras shaking, and journalists here too were panicking," CNN's Margot Haddad said.
State of emergency
The Italian Council of Ministers approved a state of emergency Thursday for the regions affected by the earthquake, allocating 50 million euros (about $56.5 million) in funding.
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