Update: 38 confirmed dead, many “voices under the rubble” in Italy earthquake
At least 38 people have been killed in a deadly earthquake that rocked central Italy, Wednesday morning.
Up to 150 others are believed to be under piles of rubble still.
“The quake struck in the early hours of the morning when most residents were asleep, razing homes and buckling roads in a cluster of communities some 140 km (85 miles) east of Rome,” Reuters reports.
Rescue efforts which were initially carried out with the use of bare hands and crude implements have been buoyed by the arrival of emergency services with earth-moving equipment.
Amatrice, voted as one of Italy’s most beautiful historic towns, is one of the worst hit.
“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.
“It’s terrible, I’m 65-years-old and I have never experienced anything like this, small tremors, yes, but nothing this big. This is a catastrophe,” he said.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he would visit the disaster area later in the day.
“No one will be left alone, no family, no community, no neighborhood. We must get down to work .. to restore hope to this area which has been so badly hit,” he said in a brief televised address.
The quake hit during the summer when the area, usually sparsely populated, hosts large numbers of holidaymakers.
A spokeswoman for the civil protection department, Immacolata Postiglione, said the dead were in Amatrice, Accumoli and other villages including Pescara del Tronto and Arquata del Tronto.
According to her, the initial death toll at 38. She however added that rescue teams had only just reached some stricken areas.
The earthquake caused damage in three regions — Umbria, Lazio and Marche — and was felt as far away as the southern Italian port city of Naples..
