A strong earthquake has struck central Italy, collapsing homes on top of residents as they slept.
At least 21 people were reported dead in two hard-hit towns, where rescue crews raced to dig out survivors from the rubble.
‘The town isn’t here anymore,’ Amatrice mayor Sergio Pirozzi said.
The magnitude 6 quake struck at 3.36am local time and was felt across a broad swathe of central Italy, including the capital, Rome, where residents felt a long swaying followed by aftershocks.
The hardest-hit towns were Amatrice and Accumoli near Rieti, some 80 miles north-east of Rome, though the quake was felt beyond the Lazio region into Umbria and Le Marche on the Adriatic coast.
The centre of Amatrice was devastated, with entire palazzos razed to the ground. Rocks and metal tumbled on to the streets and dazed residents huddled in piazzas as dozens of aftershocks continued into the early morning hours, some as strong as 5.1.
‘The whole ceiling fell but did not hit me,’ said resident Maria Gianni. ‘I just managed to put a pillow on my head and I wasn’t hit, luckily, just slightly injured my leg.’
As daylight dawned, residents, civil protection workers and even priests began digging out with shovels, bulldozers and their bare hands, trying to reach survivors. There was a sigh of relief as a woman was pulled out alive from one building, followed by a dog.
