Updates: At least 159 dead and over 300 people are injured following the powerful magnitude 6.2 earthquake in Italy.
Over 150 people are believed to have died following a strong earthquake in central Italy, officials told state broadcaster RAI on Wednesday.
The U.S. Geological Survey said it was a 6.2 magnitude quake that hit near the town of Norcia, in the region of Umbria, at 3.36 a.m. (0136 GMT).
The mayor of the central Italian town of Accumoli said a number of buildings had been badly damaged by the 6.2 magnitude quake.
The mayor of the small town of Amatrice reported extensive damage. “Half the town is gone,” Sergio Pirozzi told RAI state television. “There are people under the rubble... There’s been a landslide and a bridge might collapse.”
Italy’s civil protection agency said the earthquake was “severe.” Fire Department spokesman Luca Cari said: “There have been reports of victims” in the quake zone, but he did not have any precise details.
The worst hit towns were believed to be Accumoli, Amatrice, Posta and Arquata del Tronto, Cari told Reuters, adding that helicopters would be sent up at first light to assess the damage.
“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.
src: huffington post
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