“People are trapped under the rubble”, Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of Amatrice, told Italy’s RaiNews24.
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The quake struck shortly after 3.30am local time, and was followed by several aftershocks.
Since the area hit by the quake is very popular with tourists at this time of year, relatives in Malta are being asked to conact the numbers below to report any relatives travelling to the region and who have not contacted home since the natural disaster.
Numerous dead were in the village of Pescara del Tronto which was levelled to the ground and there were fears the number of casualties could rise. The center of Amatrice was devastated, with entire palazzos razed to the ground.
The quake-hit Italian city of Amatrice is famed as the birthplace of one of the most famous Roman dishes: spaghetti all’amatriciana, a hearty dish of pasta made with bacon-like bits of cured pork jowl, pecorino cheese and tomato.
” ‘The whole ceiling fell but did not hit me, ‘ marveled resident Maria Gianni”. “I just managed to put a pillow on my head and I wasn’t hit luckily, just slightly injured my leg”.
He added, “On the way out, we saw a pretty big chandelier swaying from side to side and I think that’s when we knew for sure”. There was relief as a woman was pulled out alive from one building, followed by a dog. But just a few kilometers to the north, in Illica, the response was slower as residents anxiously waited for loved ones to be extracted from the rubble.
Renzi thanked rescue workers who continued searching through the rubble, and vowed a sustained, national effort to find any survivors and assist the wounded and homeless.
The last major quake to hit Italy struck the central city of L’Aquila in 2009, killing more than 300 people.
The ANSA news agency reported 10 dead there, but there was no official confirmation. Residents were digging their neighbors out by hand since emergency crews hadn’t yet arrived in force. The first images of the damage showed blocks of rubble strewn in along ancient streets. “There are broken liquor bottles all over the place”, lamented Gino Petrucci, owner of a bar in nearby Arquata Del Tronto where he was beginning the long cleanup.
The hardest-hit towns were Amatrice and Accumoli near Rieti, about 80 miles northeast of Rome.
Italy’s civil protection service says the preliminary toll from Wednesday’s 6 magnitude quake is 38. The state broadcaster RAI news reported that 21 people had been killed, including 10 deaths in Accumoli, six deaths in Pescara del Tronto, and another five in Amatrice, according to The Guardian.
The mayor of Accumoli said a number of buildings had been badly damaged. “Please help us, the roads are closed, please”. The Rev. Fabio Gammarota told ANSA another three were killed in a separate collapse. At least one person was killed, he said.
He said that the lights had gone out and that heavy equipment was needed to the clear the streets of debris, according to the Associated Press.
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Italy’s civil protection agency said the natural disaster was “severe”.
