Shocked Chiefs rugby player Colin Bourke spent several frustrating hours speaking his broken Italian today, phoning friends in L'Aquila to see if they survived its devastating earthquake.
Super 14 loose forward Bourke, 24, played a season for L'Aquila two years ago, where he and partner Kelly McKinnon made many friends, and learned to speak Italian.
Former All Blacks winger Roger Randle was with L'Aquila the same season.
Some of his old mates Bourke was able to talk to, text, or track down on the internet, but not a word was heard from his best friend, Antonio Fidanza.
A deadly quake struck the medieval city before dawn yesterday, killing more than 150 people, injuring 1500 and leaving tens of thousands homeless.
The 6.3-magnitude earthquake buckled both ancient and modern buildings in and around the city, about 110km northeast of Rome.
Bourke, 24, was able to reach two friends today, both were now homeless. Others - one of them Fidanza - he could not track down, which worried him.
"The ones I have talked to they're okay, but they're shocked," he told NZPA.
"They said it's like a horror movie. One told me his beautiful town is now `like a stone mountain'."
Bourke learned of the disaster from his brother at Bay of Plenty practice last night.
He was told the death toll was only 13, only to wake this morning to find it had risen to more than 10 times that figure.
He got straight on the phone.
"I made heaps of friends there. I've been on the blower all morning, trying to get a hold of them and see if their families are sweet," he said.
He tried to reach Fidanza on Facebook, by phone, and by text. He heard nothing.
"Obviously you do get worried when you haven't heard, but they've got things to worry about, other than talking to me.
"I feel a bit useless back here, I'm just sending condolences."
Bourke lived on the edge of the medieval city, about five minutes from where the worst damage took place.
Watching the news he saw places he used to visit, and restaurants he dined at, all in ruins.
"I even saw a couple of dudes on the volunteer crew I knew, it's actually quite surreal," he said.
As well as Bourke and Randle, former All Blacks captain Mike Brewer has links with L'Aquila, having once coached the Super 10 side.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman Emma Reilly told NZPA this morning that so far no New Zealanders were reported caught up in the quake.
New Zealand's embassy in Rome was keeping in touch with local authorities in the stricken area.
