World’s oldest person dies aged 117 in Italy

ROME: Emma Morano, who at 117 was believed to be the world’s oldest person and the last to be born in the 19th century, died on Saturday, Italian media reported.

Morano, who lived in northern Italy, was born on Nov 29, 1899, four years before the Wright brothers first took to the air.

Her life spanned three centuries, two World Wars and more than 90 Italian governments. Italian news agencies ANSA and Agi said the death was reported by her friends and family.Dr Carlo Bava said Morano’s carer had called him to say she had died on Saturday afternoon while sitting in an armchair at her home in Verbania, a town on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. Bava said he had last seen on Morano on Friday. “She thanked me and held my hand as usual,” he said.