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Six Italian scientists and a former government official went on trial on manslaughter charges Tuesday for allegedly failing to give sufficient warning to residents before the devastating 2009 earthquake that killed more than 300 people in L'Aquilla, central Italy, AP reported.

The seven defendants are accused of giving "inexact, incomplete and contradictory information" about whether the smaller tremors felt by L'Aquila residents in the six months before the April 6, 2009 quake should have constituted grounds for a quake warning.

The plaintiffs are seeking some 50 million euros in damages.

The case is being closely watched by seismologists around the globe who insist it's impossible to predict earthquakes and that no major quake has ever been foretold. Last year, about 5,200 international researchers signed a petition supporting their Italian colleagues.

（点击雅虎新闻网站查看原文）

意科学家误断地震受审

       美联社报道，周二，6名意大利科学家和1名前政府官员因杀人指控受审，因为据称他们没能在2009年大地震前有效地警告居民，那次地震在拉奎拉造成300余人死亡。

       这7名被告被指控提供“不准确、不完整、相互矛盾的”信息，没能说清2009年4月6日地震6个月前拉奎拉居民感受到的小震是否能构成地震警告的依据。

       原告寻求约5000万欧元的损失赔偿。

       该案备受全世界地震学家的关注，他们坚持认为地震无法预测，没有一个大地震是预测到的。去年，约5200名国际研究人员签署请愿书，支持意大利同行。

(China.org.cn September 23, 2011)