The earthquake in Italy: At least 250 killed and many people are still buried under the rubble

At least 250 people have been killed in an earthquake that hit a mountainous area of central Italy, authorities say. The magnitude 6.2 quake struck at 03:36, 100km (65 miles) north-east of Rome, not far from Perugia.

Photography by Remo Casilli, Emiliano Grillotti and Ciro De Luca for Reuters

A powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake devastated a string of mountain towns in central Italy on Wednesday 24 August at 3:36 (local time), trapping residents under rubble, killing at least 247 people and leaving thousands homeless. Most of the damage was in the Lazio and Marche regions and Umbria was also affected.

The provisional toll jumped to 250 from the 159 dead listed on Wednesday night, national and regional officials said as a wave of aftershocks rattled a cluster of mountain communities 140 km (85 miles) east of Rome. At least 368 injured people had been taken to hospital by late on Wednesday, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said.

Many people are still believed buried under the rubble, with hundreds hurt. Dozens are believed trapped in ruined Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto, in mountainous central Italy.

The quake struck in the early hours of the morning on Wednesday when most residents were asleep, razing homes and buckling roads in a cluster of communities some 140 km (85 miles) east of Rome. It was powerful enough to be felt in Bologna to the north and Naples to the south, each more than 220 km from the epicenter.

A baby girl was pulled dead from the rubble of her home in the centre of Arquata del Tronto. The infant, who is reported to have been around nine months old, was with her parents who were rescued alive and taken to hospital with injuries. In the Lazio village of Accumoli, the bodies of a young couple and their two children were recovered from the rubble of their collapsed home, the Reuters reported.

The earthquake, which struck at 03:36 local time and was followed by a second, 5.4 magnitude seism at 04:33 between Umbria and the Marche, was said by civil protection authorities to be “comparable in intensity” to the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake in which over 300 people died.

“Three quarters of the town is not there anymore”. — Sergio Pirozzi, Amatrice’s mayor

Aerial photographs showed whole areas of Amatrice, voted last year as one of Italy’s most beautiful historic towns, flattened by the 6.2 magnitude quake. Many of those killed or missing were visitors.

“It’s all young people here, it’s holiday season, the town festival was to have been held the day after tomorrow so lots of people came for that,” said to Reuters Amatrice resident Giancarlo, sitting in the road wearing just his underwear.

“It’s terrible, I’m 65-years-old and I have never experienced anything like this, small tremors, yes, but nothing this big. This is a catastrophe,” he said to the journalist of Reuters Steve Scherer.

Disappearing into dust

Patients at the badly damaged hospital in Amatrice were moved into the streets.

“Three quarters of the town is not there anymore,” Amatrice mayor Sergio Pirozzi told state broadcaster RaiNews 24. “The aim now is to save as many lives as possible. There are voices under the rubble, we have to save the people there.”

Stefano Petrucci, mayor of nearby Accumoli, said some 2,500 people were left homeless in the local community, made up of 17 hamlets.

Residents responding to wails muffled by tonnes of bricks and mortar sifted through the rubble with their bare hands before emergency services arrived with earth-moving equipment and sniffer dogs.

Wide cracks had appeared like open wounds on the buildings that were still standing.

The national Civil Protection Department said some survivors would be put up elsewhere in central Italy, while others would be housed in tents that were being dispatched to the area.

The army was mobilised to help with special heavy equipment and the treasury released 235 million euros ($265 million) of emergency funds. At the Vatican, Pope Francis cancelled part of his general audience to pray for the victims.

Rescue workers used helicopters to pluck trapped survivors to safety in the more isolated villages, which had been cut off by landslides and rubble.

The Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he would visit the disaster area later in the day: “No one will be left alone, no family, no community, no neighbourhood. We must get down to work to restore hope to this area which has been so badly hit”, he said in a brief televised address.

A spokeswoman for the civil protection department, Immacolata Postiglione, said the dead were in Amatrice, Accumoli and other villages including Pescara del Tronto and Arquata del Tronto.

Multiple aftershocks

Residents of Rome, some 170 km (105 miles) from the epicentre, were woken by the quake, which rattled furniture and swayed lights in most of central Italy.

“It was so strong. It seemed the bed was walking across the room by itself with us on it,” Lina Mercantini of Ceselli, Umbria, told Reuters.

Olga Urbani, in the nearby town of Scheggino, said: “Dear God it was awful. The walls creaked and all the books fell off the shelves.”

The Italian earthquake institute (INGV) reported 60 aftershocks in the four hours following the initial quake, the strongest measuring 5.5. It measured the original quake at 6.0. Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active countries in Europe.

The last major earthquake to hit the country struck the central city of L’Aquila in 2009, killing more than 300 people.

“The last major earthquake to hit the country struck the central city of L’Aquila in 2009” — Fabrizio Curcio, chief of the Italian Civil Protection Department

The day after

The sun rose on Thursday on many people who had slept in cars or tents, the earth continuing to tremble under their feet. Two powerful aftershocks registered 5.1 and 5.4.

The search went on through the night, and there was a strong aftershock which rocked already damaged buildings.

More than 4,300 rescuers are using heavy lifting equipment and their bare hands.

Many of the victims were children, the health minister said, and there were warnings the toll could rise further.