DUSHANBE, April 8, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- President Emomali Rahmon yesterday sent a telegram of condolences to his Italian counterpart, President Giorgio Napolitano, over a devastating earthquake that hit central Italy Monday night, according to presidential press service.

Rahmon said that Tajik people shared the Italian people’s grief and asked to pass on condolence to victims’ families and relatives.

We will recall that the devastating earthquake that struck L-Aquila and its region on Monday killed at least 207 and injured some 1,500 people.  Some 17,000 people were left homeless.  Between 3,000 and 10,000 buildings are thought to have been damaged in L''Aquila, making the 13th-Century city of 70,000 uninhabitable for some time.