Arson at the Madonna dell'Aiuto Church
During the night of May 17th, unknown persons entered and set fire to the church of Madonna dell'Aiuto in Trecastagni.
Around midnight, a statue of the Virgin Mary near the sacristy was wrapped in a blanket soaked in flammable liquid and was later lit. The flames expanded and destroyed the interior of the church, without affecting the adjacent buildings.
The firemen of the detachment of Acireale managed to extinguish the fire after more than three hours.
Inside the church, whose door apparently was not forced, three containers of flammable liquid were found, one of them intact. Some inhabitants of the area and faithful who attend the parish informed the police that, during the afternoon mass, they would have felt the smell of gasoline.
The church's facilities were destroyed and, for the time being, are uninhabitable. The scientific department of the Carabinieri (Police) also arrived at the place to carry out new investigations.
Sources: Catania Today, Meridio News, Grandangolo Agrigento, La Sicilia and Rai News (Video)