Italian scientist 'predicted' earthquake disaster

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Seismologist Gioacchino Giuliani had warned that "a big one" was on the way and even toured the region in a van with loudspeakers warning people as late as last week.

But he was reported to the police by authorities for "needlessly spreading panic" and also dismissed by L'Aquila's civic officials.

Dr Giuliani based his theory on increasingly high levels of radon gas in the area and posted his findings on his website. But he was forced to take them down and today the site was not working.

Dr Giuliani, who works at the Institute of Nuclear Physics at nearby Gran Sasso, said: "There are people who need to apologise to me. These people will have these deaths on their conscience.

"I could see what was about to happen and I could not do anything because I could not turn to anyone because I had been warned not to say anything about an earthquake.

"People dismissed me as a crank and said terrible things about me. I was called an idiot and told that earthquakes cannot be predicted. Now I am trembling with anger because of the seriousness of the situation." However Enzo Boschi, an earthquake expert, said: "There is no way anyone can predict a tremor."