LONDON, April 8 (Reuters Life!) - U.S. pop star Madonna has donated a "substantial sum" to the victims of Monday's earthquake in central Italy, her London publicist said on Wednesday.
The 50-year-old singer's paternal grandparents lived in the village of Pacentro, close to where the earthquake struck killing 260 people, until 1919.
"I am happy to lend a helping hand to the town that my ancestors are from," Madonna said in a statement. "My heart goes out to the families that have lost loved ones or their homes."
The spokeswoman did not say how much money Madonna donated, but celebrity website People reported the sum was around $500,000.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)
The coffin of earthquake victim Carmelina Iovine, 22, is carried during her funeral in the Italian town of Raiano April 8, 2009. Italy prepared on Wednesday to begin burying some of ...
