He added that the region is popular with tourists escaping the heat of Rome, with more residents than at other times of the year, and that a single building collapse could raise the toll significantly.
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‘This is a town that is dead. “There is damage to the historic heritage and buildings, but we do not have any serious injuries”, he told Rai. The US Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.2 with the epicentre at Norcia, about 105 miles (170km) north-east of Rome, and with a relatively shallow depth of six miles (10km).
The quake was felt in the capital and all around central Italy, and was followed by several aftershocks, including a 5.9 shock.
The mayor of Amatrice told the Associated Press that residents are buried under debris and that the town “isn’t here anymore” following the natural disaster. Half the town is gone.
The quake struck at 3:36 a.m., Civil Protection said in a statement Wednesday. ‘Everything is broken.’ Amatrice’s hospital was evacuated, and its 15 patients were moved out into the street.
A baby girl was pulled dead from the rubble of her home in the centre of Arquata del Tronto. The small town of Amatrice was reduced to rubble, and an epicentre was around Accumoli. One mayor reported a family of four trapped under the debris without signs of life and another said simply: “The town isn’t here anymore”.
‘It is a scandal, ‘ Petrucci said, noting that a Carabinieri police unit had managed to reach the town from 100 kilometres away.
“We need chainsaws, shears to cut iron bars, and jacks to remove beams: everything, we need everything”, civil protection worker Andrea Gentili told the Associated Press.
Italian President, Sergio Mattarella said in a statement,”this is a moment of greif and of appeal to shared responsibility”.
Pope Francis said he was almost at a loss for words. Those tremors, the country’s deadliest in nearly three decades, damaged thousands of buildings in and around the medieval city of L’Aquila and caused billions of euros in damage.
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s spokesman said on Twitter that the government was in touch with the civil protection agency and following the situation closely.
“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 Amatrice resident Giancarlo, sitting in the road wearing just his underwear. Nobody was hurt there, the local municipality said.
In 2009, a 6.3-magnitude quake struck close to the university city of Aquila in the Abruzzo region and left more than 300 people dead.
At least 21 people have died as a result of the 6.2-magnitude natural disaster, according to CNN affiliate Rai, all in three badly-affected villages in a mountainous area of central Italy.
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“We΄re digging, digging. hoping to find someone alive”, he told the affiliate.
