Italian rescuers pull victims out of rubble after 6.2 earthquake hits northeast of Rome

AMATRICE, Italy – A strong earthquake rocked central Italy early Wednesday, collapsing homes on top of residents as they slept. At least 11 people were reported dead in two hard-hit towns where rescue crews raced to dig survivors out of the rubble, but the toll was expected to rise as crews reached homes in more remote hamlets.

Rescuers search for survivors through rubble after an earthquake, in Accumoli, central Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016. A devastating earthquake rocked central Italy early Wednesday, collapsing homes on top of residents as they slept. At least 23 people were reported dead in three hard-hit towns where rescue crews raced to dig survivors out of the rubble, but the toll was expected to rise as crews reached homes in more remote hamlets. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

“The town isn’t here anymore,” Amatrice mayor Sergio Pirozzi said.

The magnitude 6 quake struck at 8:36 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday night (3:36 a.m. local time Wednesday) and was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome, where residents felt a long swaying followed by aftershocks. The temblor was felt from the Lazio region into Umbria and Le Marche on the Adriatic coast.

#rescuers in #Amatrice after #earthquake @AFPphoto by @f_monteforte pic.twitter.com/9FoF4bdYps

— Isabelle Wirth (@Wirth_Isa) August 24, 2016

The hardest-hit towns were Amatrice and Accumoli near Rieti, some 100 kilometres northeast of Rome, where the air was thick with dust and smelled strongly of gas. The centre of Amatrice was devastated, with entire buildings razed. Rocks and metal tumbled onto the streets and dazed residents huddled in piazzas as some 39 aftershocks continued into the early morning hours, some as strong as 5.1.

“The whole ceiling fell but did not hit me,” marveled resident Maria Gianni. “I just managed to put a pillow on my head and I wasn’t hit luckily, just slightly injured my leg.”

ITALY – Strong 6.2 quake hits central Italy. By @f_monteforte #AFP pic.twitter.com/gufNRzeRvP

— AFP Photo (@AFPphoto) August 24, 2016

Another woman, sitting in front of her destroyed home with a blanket over her shoulders, said she didn’t know what had become of her loved ones.

“It was one of the most beautiful towns of Italy and now there’s nothing left,” she said, too distraught to give her name. “I don’t know what we’ll do.”

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 relief as a woman was pulled out alive from one building, followed by a dog.

#rescuers in #Amatrice this morning after #ItalyEarthquake pic.twitter.com/6iJyDzb1N1

— Isabelle Wirth (@Wirth_Isa) August 24, 2016

“We need chain saws, shears to cut iron bars, and jacks to remove beams: everything, we need everything,” civil protection worker Andrea Gentili told The Associated Press. Italy’s national blood drive association appealed for donations to Rieti’s hospital.

The devastation harked back to the 2009 quake that killed more than 300 people in and around L’Aquila, about 90 kilometres south of the latest quake. The town sent emergency teams Wednesday to help with the rescue.

“I don’t know what to say. We are living this immense tragedy,” said the Rev. Savino D’Amelio, an Amatrice parish priest. “We are only hoping there will be the least number of victims possible and that we all have the courage to move on.”

The Italian geological service put the magnitude at 6.0; the U.S. Geological Survey reported 6.2 with the epicenter at Norcia, about 170 kilometres northeast of Rome, and with a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres.

“Quakes with this magnitude at this depth in our territory in general create building collapses, which can result in deaths,” said the head of Italy’s civil protection service, Fabrizio Curcio. He added that the region is popular with tourists escaping the heat of Rome, with more residents than at other times of the year, and that a single building collapse could raise the toll significantly.

The mayor of Accumoli, Stefano Petrucci, told state-run RaiNews24 at least six people had died there, including a family of four, and two others.

In Amatrice, the ANSA news agency reported two bodies were pulled from one building. The Rev. Fabio Gammarota told ANSA another three were killed in a separate collapse.

In Amatrice, Pirozzi told state-run RAI radio and Sky TG24 that residents were buried under collapsed buildings, that the lights had gone out and that heavy equipment was needed to clear streets clogged with debris.

#Italy – A man reacts to his damaged home after strong earthquake hit Amatrice. By @f_monteforte #AFP pic.twitter.com/3c9kchSmS5

— AFP Photo (@AFPphoto) August 24, 2016

Premier Matteo Renzi’s office tweeted that heavy equipment was on its way.

A 1997 quake killed a dozen people in the area and severely damaged one of the jewels of Umbria, the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, filled with Giotto frescoes. The Franciscan friars who are the custodians of the basilica reported no immediate damage from Wednesday’s temblor.