Accumoli: A powerful pre-dawn earthquake, measuring between 6.0 and 6.2 on the monitors, devastated mountain villages in central Italy yesterday, leaving at least 38 people dead and dozens more injured, trapped or missing.
<img title="Rescuers carry a victim after the earthquake in Amatrice, Italy." src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/aug/25earthquake.jpg" alt="Rescuers carry a victim after the earthquake in Amatrice, Italy. " /> Rescuers carry a victim after the earthquake in Amatrice, Italy. Pic/AFP
Scores of buildings were reduced to dusty piles of masonry in communities close to the epicentre of the quake, a remote area straddling Umbria, Marche and Lazio.
In the first official death toll, Italy&rsquo;s civil protection unit said there had been 38 deaths in and around the villages of Amatrice, Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto.
&ldquo;There are still so many people under masonry, so many missing,&rdquo; said Immacolata Postiglione, the head of the unit&rsquo;s emergency department.
&ldquo;My sister and her husband are under the rubble, we&rsquo;re waiting for diggers, but they can&rsquo;t get up here,&rdquo; said Guido Bordo (69) in the tiny village of Illica, near Accumoli.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no sound from them, we only heard their cats. I wasn&rsquo;t here, as soon as the quake happened, I rushed here. They pulled my sister&rsquo;s children out, they&rsquo;re in hospital now,&rdquo; he added.
Other victims included a nine-month-old baby whose parents survived. But, two other children aged four and seven were saved by their grandmother, who ushered them under a bed as soon as the shaking began.
PM Matteo Renzi cancelled a planned trip to France for a meeting with European Socialist leaders to oversee the response to the disaster.
&ldquo;The situation is dramatic, there are many dead,&rdquo; said Amatrice mayor Sergio Pirozzi. &ldquo;Half the village has disappeared.&rdquo;
Pope Francis interrupted his audience in St Peter&rsquo;s Square to express shock. &ldquo;To hear the mayor of Amatrice say his village no longer exists and knowing that there are children among the victims, is very upsetting for me,&rdquo; he said.
The shocks were strong enough to wake residents of central Rome, 150 kms away.
The worst damage was suffered by Pescara del Tronto, a hamlet near Arquata, which &ldquo;just completely disintegrated&rdquo; according to mayor Aleandro Petrucci.

The epicentre was an area straddling Umbria, Marche and Lazio; scores are still missing while mayor of Amatrice said &ldquo;half the village has disappeared&rdquo;&nbsp;

Italian villages wiped out by quake, 38 dead

Three Indian-origin siblings hauled off plane over 'IS claims'

The epicentre was an area straddling Umbria, Marche and Lazio; scores are still missing while mayor of Amatrice said &ldquo;half the village has disappeared&rdquo;&nbsp;

Italian villages wiped out by quake, 38 dead

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Home / News / World News / Article / Italian villages wiped out by quake, 38 dead

Italian villages wiped out by quake, 38 dead

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast