ROME -  The head of Italy’s disaster body, Luciano Maiani, has resigned to protest against prison sentences passed on seven colleagues over the 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila. Six scientists and an ex-official were convicted of multiple manslaughter for giving a falsely reassuring statement. Prof Maiani, a physicist, said the Serious Risks Commission could not work “in such difficult conditions”. The 6.3 magnitude quake killed 309 people and left the city in ruins. Maiani’s decision to quit was announced by the Italy’s Civil Protection department, which said the commission’s vice-president, Mauro Rosi, and emeritus president Giuseppe Zamberletti also quit.