At least 27 people, including five children were killed when an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale destroyed hundreds of homes in central Italy early this morning.
Scores more are missing after the earthquake struck at 3.32am (0132 GMT) near l'Aquila in the mountainous region of Abruzzo 60 miles (95 kilometres) north of Rome.
Dawn revealed a scene of devastation in the town, the epicentre of the earthquake, as rubble blocked the streets and rescue workers desperately searched for survivors in the ruins of the collapsed buildings.
The death toll rose through the night and is expected to keep rising, according to police.
At least half a dozen university students remain trapped after their dormitory in l'Aquila was destroyed, according to Italy's RAI TV. A student who was not named told RAI they were awakened by the earthquake and ran down the stairs of the dormitory before the roof collapsed.
Police confirmed that five people were killed in the small town of Castelnuovo, and four children died in hospital in l'Aquila, three miles from the quake's epicenter, according to the Italian news agency ANSA. An elderly woman and a child were also crushed when their home collapsed in the nearby town of Fossa.
The earthquake would claim "many victims", public safety chief Guido Bertolaso told ANSA.
"Thousands of people (could be left) homeless and thousands of buildings collapsed or damaged," Agostino Miozzo, an official at the civil protection ministry, added.
The centre of L'Aquila, a town of about 70,000 inhabitants, had been hard hit, Italian journalist Paulo Pacitti told the BBC.
"All the people are now on the road, queuing - trying to reach a safe area," he said
British residents in the region told how the ground "felt like jelly" as their houses were shaken violently in the early hours.
Matthew Peacock, who lives with his wife and child in the Umbrian town of Amelia, around 60 miles north of Rome, said he woke up around 2.30am UK time feeling a "very significant shaking".
He told Sky News: "It was quite an extraordinary experience.
"I live in a big old stone house with walls a metre thick. It felt like the house was being shaken from the rooftop - my bed was banging against the wall and you could hear this creaking.
"I rushed across the hallway to my son, who's five, grabbed him and stood underneath the doorway. The shaking went on for 20 seconds or so."
Mr Peacock, who said he felt two or three aftershocks after the initial quake, added: "The earth really felt like jelly underneath.
Another Briton living in Monte San Marino, a small town in the Apennine mountain range 60 miles to the north east of L'Aquila, said he also woke up to find the house shaking.
Barry Raven told Sky News: "It continued to shake for about 30 seconds.
"When you felt it you were thinking 'Is this the beginning or is this the end?' "
The earthquake, which was also felt in Rome, was the latest in a series of tremors that have shook Italy's north central region since Sunday. It struck at a depth of six miles (10 kilometres), the US Geological Survey said on its website.
It came hours after a 4.6 magnitude tremor struck in Ravenna, in the north west on Sunday night.
Italy is criss-crossed by two fault lines, with some 20 million people at risk from earthquakes.
A powerful earthquake in the region claimed 13 lives in 1997 and damaged or destroyed priceless cultural heritage.
The most recent major earthquake, in October 2002, killed 30 people including 27 pupils and their teacher who were crushed under their schoolhouse in the tiny medieval village of San Giuliano di Puglia.
"This story is alarming. I pray that victims will be rescued as soon as possible."
Monday, April 6, 2009
Dozens dead and thousands left homeless by Italy earthquake.
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