The 6.2-magnitude quake struck at 3.36am local time on Wednesday and was felt across central Italy, including Rome.
Advertisement
Amatrice’s mayor Sergio Pirozzi said rescuers digging through ruins at a hotel that collapsed in the city, which was hosting about 70 guests when the quake struck, had only recovered seven of bodies.
The death toll climbed in the morning as rescuers searched for people trapped in the rubble.
The quake struck small towns and villages in the mountainous area where the regions of Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche meet. Ambulances then transferred patients to other towns.
However, in nearby Arquata, victims included 18-month-old Marisol Piermarini, who was killed when her family home collapsed.
Thousands of rescuers are using heavy lifting equipment to sift through the rubble but many are also using their bare hands.
“It was one of the most handsome towns of Italy and now there’s nothing left”, she said, too distraught to give her name.
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.
“We came out to the piazza, and it looked like Dante’s Inferno”, said Agostino Severo, a visiting resident of Rome. Sniffer dogs have aided rescue workers as flood lights lit up several towns early Thursday to search for signs of life.
The mayor of Accumoli, Stefano Petrucci, described the situation was “even more awful than we feared, with buildings collapsed, people trapped under the rubble and no sound of life”, according to The Guardian.
A drone photo shows the damages following an quake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 25, 2016.
The Foreign Office has not confirmed the deaths of the British nationals.
“Every 7 or 8 years there’s been an natural disaster in this area but I’ve never seen one so long and ugly”, said a Pescara del Tronto resident.
Two women ran up the street yelling “She’s alive!” The president has Woffered his thoughts and prayers to the people of Italy and “saluted quick action of first responders”.
The U.S. Geological Survey put its magnitude at 4.7 with the epicenter about 7 kilometers east of Norcia, with a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). Its tremors rattled Rome – about 100 miles away.
But an official with Italy’s civil protection agency, Luigi d’Angelo, told Sky TG24 that about 35 people had been staying at the hotel, and most had managed to get out.
Advertisement
About 270 people injured in Wednesday’s quake were hospitalized, the Civil Protection department said, adding that about 5,000 people, including police, firefighters, army troops and volunteers, were involved in post-quake operations.
