Italy earthquake: Death toll rises to at least 240

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At least 159 people have been killed and 368 injured in an earthquake that hit a mountainous area of central Italy, civil protection officials say.

The magnitude-6.2 quake struck at 03:36 (01:36 GMT), 100km (65 miles) north-east of Rome, not far from Perugia.

At least 86 of the dead were in the historic town of Amatrice, where the mayor said three-quarters of the town was destroyed, and in nearby Accumoli.

Many people are still believed to be buried under rubble.

Rescue teams are using heavy lifting equipment and their bare hands and authorities said the search for survivors would continue through the night.

There were cheers in the village of Pescara del Tronto when an eight-year-old girl was pulled alive from the rubble after being trapped for 17 hours.

Earlier, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi warned the toll could rise as he visited the area.

He had previously paid tribute to the volunteers and civil defence officials who rushed to the scene in the middle of the night and used their bare hands to dig for survivors.

He promised "no family, no city, no hamlet will be left behind".

The tremor was felt across Italy, from Bologna in the north to Naples in the south. There have been dozens of aftershocks.

Hardest hit were the small towns and villages in the mountainous area where the regions of Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche meet.
Map showing towns affected by the earthquake and their proximity to Perugia and Rome

As well as the 86 dead in the two towns of Amatrice and Accumoli, 34 people are known to have been killed in Le Marche province, including in the neighbouring villages of Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto.

Health minister Beatrice Lorenzin said there were many children among the dead

In Amatrice the missing include three nuns and four guests at their convent

In Accumoli the dead include a mother, father and their two young sons; rescuers had heard the screams of the mother and one of the children and had frantically tried to reach them in time, Italian media reported

Mayor Stefano Petrucci told Ansa that not a house in the town was fit for habitation, and they would have to set up tents to house everyone

Almost all houses in Pescara del Tronto have collapsed, the local mayor said
In Arquata, a grandmother saved her two grandchildren, aged four and seven, by pulling them under a bed with her

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said it had recorded more than 200 aftershocks by 15:00 (13:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

The country is no stranger to earthquakes: in 2009 a tremor killed more than 300 people in L'Aquila and in May 2012 two tremors nine days apart killed more than 20 people in the northern Emilia Romagna region.

Rescue teams from around the country have been sent to the affected region.

The area is mountainous and access is difficult. Tent camps are being set up for those who need shelter, while others will be accommodated in buildings such as gymnasiums.

The national blood donation service has appealed for donors to come forward.

Many of the people affected were on holiday in the region. Some were in Amatrice for a festival to celebrate a famous local speciality - amatriciana bacon and tomato sauce.

Earthquakes are an ever-present danger for those who live along the Apennine mountain range in Italy.

Through the centuries thousands have died as a result of tremors equal to, or not much bigger than, the event that struck in the early hours of Wednesday. The modern response, thankfully, has been more robust building and better preparation.

Mediterranean seismicity is driven by the great collision between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates; but when it comes down to the specifics of this latest quake, the details are far more complicated.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37171953

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Sadly, what was originally though to have been a rural earthquake with almost no casualties, has turned into a major disaster

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Italy earthquake: Search for survivors as death toll tops 160

Thousands of rescuers have searched through the night for survivors following Wednesday's earthquake in a mountainous area of central Italy.

Many people are still believed to be buried under rubble and more than 4,300 rescuers are using heavy lifting equipment and bare hands to find them.

More than 160 people have died and at least 368 were injured, officials said.

Many of the victims were children, the health minister said, and there were warnings the toll could rise further.

Among the victims was an 18-month-old toddler, Marisol Piermarini, whose mother Martina Turco survived the deadly 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila and moved away from there after the experience, Italian news agency Ansa reported.

Ms Turco was being treated in hospital after being pulled from the rubble in the village of Arquata del Tronto, Ansa said.

Late on Wednesday there were cheers in the village of Pescara del Tronto when a young girl was pulled alive from the rubble after being trapped for 17 hours.

Almost all the houses there had collapsed, the mayor said.

The 6.2-magnitude quake hit at 03:36 (01:36 GMT) on Wednesday 100km (65 miles) north-east of Rome.

Hardest hit were the small towns and villages in the mountainous area where the regions of Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche meet.

People there are spending the night outside or in tents provided by the emergency services.
At least 86 of the victims were in the historic town of Amatrice and in nearby Accumoli.

The mayor of Amatrice said three-quarters of the town had been destroyed and no building was safe for habitation.

Many of those affected were on holiday in the region. Some were in Amatrice for a festival to celebrate a famous local speciality - amatriciana bacon and tomato sauce.

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said it had recorded more than 200 aftershocks by 15:00 (13:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

The country is no stranger to earthquakes: the 2009 L'Aquila tremor killed more than 300 people and in May 2012 two tremors nine days apart killed more than 20 people in the northern Emilia Romagna region.
Why is Italy at risk of earthquakes? By Jonathan Amos

Earthquakes are an ever-present danger for those who live along the Apennine mountain range in Italy.

Through the centuries thousands have died as a result of tremors equal to, or not much bigger than, the event that struck in the early hours of Wednesday. The modern response, thankfully, has been more robust building and better preparation.

Mediterranean seismicity is driven by the great collision between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates; but when it comes down to the specifics of this latest quake, the details are far more complicated.

The Tyrrhenian Basin, or Sea, which lies to the west of Italy, between the mainland and Sardinia/Corsica, is slowly opening up.

Scientists say this is contributing to extension, or "pull-apart", along the Apennines. This stress is compounded by movement in the east, in the Adriatic.

The result is a major fault system that runs the length of the mountain range with a series of smaller faults that fan off to the sides. The foundations of cities like Perugia and L'Aquila stand on top of it all.

Link to Photos - Videos:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37181933

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Italy earthquake: Search for survivors as death toll tops 240

Thousands of rescuers have searched through the night for survivors following Wednesday's earthquake in a mountainous area of central Italy.

More than 240 people have died and at least 368 were injured, officials said.

Many people are still believed to be buried under rubble and more than 4,300 rescuers are using heavy lifting equipment and bare hands to find them.

Many of the victims were children, the health minister said, and there were warnings the toll could rise further.

Early on Thursday, Italy's civil protection authorities said a total of 247 people were now known to have died, with 190 deaths reported in Rieti province and 57 in neighbouring Ascoli Piceno province.

Rescuers said they had pulled five bodies from the ruins of the Hotel Roma in the historic town of Amatrice. Officials said about 35 people had been staying at the hotel and most had managed to get out. About 10 people were still unaccounted for, a local fire official said.

Late on Wednesday there were cheers in the village of Pescara del Tronto when a young girl was pulled alive from the rubble after being trapped for 17 hours. Almost all the houses there had collapsed, the mayor said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37181933

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Eight-year-old girl dies protecting her younger sister who survived under her dead body for hours in rubble of Italian earthquake

Eight-year-old Giulia Renaldo was dead by the time rescuers reached her body in Pescara del Tronto

She saved her four-year-old sister Giorgia - who escaped without a scratch - by lying on top of her

Distraught grandmother Angela Cafini said 'they were found together hours after the earthquake hit'

More than 4,300 emergency service workers face a race against time to find remaining survivors

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck near Norcia in Umbria, central Italy, at 3.30am on Wednesday

In the 2009 earthquake in nearby L'Aquila a survivor was pulled out after 72 hours

247 dead including 8-month-old baby, his brother, nine, and their parents, who were buried in their sleep

Stefano Petrucci, mayor of Accumoli, said some 2,500 people are left homeless in the local community

In the town of Pescara del Tronto, the bodies of the dead were laid out in a children's play park

An eight-year-old girl sacrificed her own life by throwing herself on top of her younger sister as the rubble from Italy’s devastating earthquake encased them.

In one of the most remarkable stories of courage to emerge from the catastrophic 6.2-magnitude quake that struck central Italy on Wednesday, the two girls were found buried together in the rubble of their holiday home in the village of Pescara del Tronto but only one of them survived.

Distraught grandmother Angela Cafini wept as she recalled how her four-year-old grand daughter escaped with barely a scratch thanks to her older sister who lay on top of her to protect her as the house collapsed around them.

‘Giulia died saving her sister. She lay on top of her. That is the only reason she is alive. I am told she has no injuries and that is the only explanation for that,’ Ms Cafini said.

The village has been virtually wiped from the map with almost every building destroyed.

The astonishing tale of heroism emerged as the death toll from the earthquake rose to 247.

Officials fear the final number of victims will be more than 300 as they continue their painstaking search through the shattered remains of four villages looking for more survivors.

Mrs Cafini wept as she told Daily Mail Online how one granddaughter died but the other survived.

Eight-year-old Giula Renaldo was dead by the time rescuers reached her body while her younger sister Giorgia was alive and is now recovering in hospital.

‘They were found together hours after the earthquake hit us,’ said Mrs Cafini.

‘They were together. One was alive and the other was dead. Georgia had used her body to protect her little sister because she was not harmed at all. She has no injuries.

‘It is a miracle that she is alive, but I am torn. I have lost one granddaughter and one has lived.’

As 64-year-old Mrs Cafini spoke she frequently broke down in tears with friends and rescuers coming to comfort her.

She said her daughter Michaela and son-in-law Fabio were visiting her home in the tiny village perched on a hillside close to the epicentre of the earthquake.

They were on a week’s holiday from their home in Rome when the quake struck in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Mrs Cafini was staying at another house previously owned by her own mother and escaped unscathed when the village was wiped out.

Her daughter and son-in-law suffered crush injuries and were taken to hospital in Ascoli Pinceino where they are recovering.

When they were transported from the village they had no idea if their two daughters were alive or dead.

‘We had to leave the village because it was so unsafe and they brought us here,’ said Mrs Cafini gesturing to a cluster of blue tents erected by the side of the main road leading to Pescara del Tronto.

‘All we could do was sit and wait. It was too dangerous to be in the village. After about 15 hours at 7pm we got word that they had found the girls. One was alive and the other was dead.’

Rescue teams are still searching through the rubble in the village in the faint hope of finding other survivors.

Many of the victims were children, according to Mrs Cafini.

‘We have lost so many from the village. There were lots of people, families visiting from Rome. I can’t believe what we are going through.’

Dramatic footage of ten-year-old girl being pulled alive from the village emerged as rescuers toiled through the night in the search for survivors.

The girl, who has not been named, was found after almost 17 hours.

Others from nearby villages were brought to the makeshift tent city just outside Pescara Del Tronto.

Among them retirees Vittorio and Edde who were at their holiday home in the village of Capo Dacqua.

They were uninjured but said they had lost everything, including the car they had driven from their home in Rome.

‘All we have are the clothes that we have on now,’ said Vittorio.

‘We were lucky. Our house was not badly damaged and we stayed inside an hour before the firemen came and got a ladder to get us down from the balcony.

‘We want to go back to Rome but are worried about our possessions in the house.’

Their fears came amid reports of looting from some of the shattered homes.

Anthea: I do not believe that any of the local villagers - or indeed any Italian - Italians are highly religious and would never commit such a crime

Vittorio said two people from her village died.

One was a 40-year-old woman who rushed into a crumbling building to try and save her elderly mother.

‘The mother survived but the daughter died,’ she said.

‘Another woman in her 50s also died. It was a small village and everyone knew each other. We are mourning the loss of friends.’

As rescue efforts continue officials said more than 4,300 people are involved in what is now effectively become a search and recovery operation.

Specialist teams, including those expert in mountain and cave rescues, were heavily involved in the searches in the four mountainside towns and villages of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto.

As dawn broke over the rolling hills of central Lazio and Le Marche regions sniffer dogs, firefighters and rescue crews had worked through the night using their bare hands to pull chunks of cement, rock and metal apart from mounds of rubble where homes once stood searching for signs of life.

'Unfortunately, 90 percent we pull out are dead, but some make it, that's why we are here,' said Christian Bianchetti, a volunteer from Rieti who was working in devastated Amatrice.

One area of focus was the Hotel Roma in Amatrice, famous for the Amatriciana bacon and tomato pasta sauce that brings food lovers to this medieval hilltop town each August for its food festival.

Amatrice's mayor had initially said 70 guests were in the crumbled hotel ahead of this weekend's festival, but rescue workers later halved that estimate after the owner said most guests managed to escape.

Firefighters' spokesman Luca Cari said that one body had been pulled out of the hotel rubble just before dawn but that the search continued there and elsewhere, even as aftershocks rattled the area.

'We're still in a phase that allows us to hope we'll find people alive,' Cari said, noting that in the 2009 earthquake in nearby L'Aquila a survivor was pulled out after 72 hours.

Worst affected by the quake were the tiny towns of Amatrice and Accumoli near Rieti, 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Rome, and Pescara del Tronto, 25 kilometers (15 miles) further east.

Italy's civil protection agency reported the death toll had risen to 247 early Thursday with at least 368 others injured. Most of the dead - 190 - were in Amatrice and Accumuli and their nearby hamlets.

The civil protection agency set up tent cities around the affected towns to accommodate the homeless. In Amatrice, many elderly and children spent the night inside a local sports facility.

As the search effort continued, the soul-searching began once again as Italy confronted the effects of having the highest seismic hazard in Western Europe, some of it in its most picturesque medieval villages, and anti-seismic building codes that aren't applied to old buildings and often aren't respected when new ones are built.

'In a country where in the past 40 years there have been at least eight devastating earthquakes ... the only lesson we have learned is to save lives after the fact,' columnist Sergio Rizzo wrote in Thursday's Corriere della Sera. 'We are far behind in the other lessons.'

Experts estimate that 70 percent of Italy's buildings aren't built to anti-seismic standards. After every major quake, proposals are made to improve, but they often languish in Italy's thick bureaucracy, funding shortages and the huge scope of trying to secure thousands of ancient towns and newer structures built before codes were passed or after the codes were in effect but in violation of them.

In recent quakes, some of these more modern buildings have been the deadliest: the university dormitory that collapsed in the 2009 L'Aquila quake, killing 11 students; the elementary school that crumbled in San Giuliano di Puglia in 2002, killing 26 children - the town's entire first-grade class. In some cases, the anti-seismic building standards have been part of the problem, including using reinforced cement for roofs that are then too heavy for weak walls when quakes strike.

Premier Matteo Renzi, visiting the quake-affected zone Wednesday, promised to rebuild 'and guarantee a reconstruction that will allow residents to live in these communities, to relaunch these beautiful towns that have a wonderful past that will never end.'

While the government is already looking ahead to reconstruction, rescue workers on the ground still had days and weeks of work ahead of them. In hard-hit Pescara del Tronto, firefighter Franco Mantovan said early Thursday that crews knew of three residents still under the rubble, but in a hard-to-reach area.

One man, Guido Bordo, 69, lost his sister and her husband after they were trapped inside their holiday house in the hamlet of Illica, north of hard-hit Amatrice. Before their deaths were confirmed, he had described how he could only hear the sound of cats as he scrambled to find his loved-ones beneath the rubble.

The first victim to be named by local media reports was Marisol Piermarini - an 18-month-old baby who was sleeping in her crib when the house she was staying in Arquata del Tronto collapsed. Mother Martina and father Massimiliano have been taken to hospital with 'many wounds' after being pulled from the rubble.

Tragically, the family had moved to the area from L’Aquila after their home there was destroyed in another earthquake in 2009.

The little girl's grandfather, Massimo Piermarini, said he desperately tried to save his family: 'They did not want me to go in because it was all in danger, but I said that I did not care at all, I had to go looking for them, but unfortunately for the girl there was nothing to do.'

Some of the worst damage was suffered in Pescara del Tronto, a hamlet near Arquata in the Marche region where the bodies of the dead were laid out in a children's play park.

Agostino Severo, a Rome resident visiting Illica, said: 'We came out to the piazza, and it looked like Dante's Inferno. People crying for help, help. Rescue workers arrived after one hour... one and a half hours.'

On Wednesday the Queen joined others from around the world in sending a message of condolence to Italy, saying she was saddened to hear of the loss of life and that her thoughts were with families affected. President Barack Obama called Italian President Sergio Mattarella and saluted the 'quick action' by first responders in Italy.

The quake's epicentre was near Norcia in Umbria, about 105 miles north east of Rome, and falling bridges and landslides meant some areas are still cut off with emergency teams only able to get there on foot.

The mayor of Accumoli, Stefano Petrucci, said this morning: 'My town isn't here anymore' as people were carried out of ruined buildings on stretchers and people desperately searched the debris for survivors or sobbed as they inspected their own ruined homes.

Photographer Emiliano Grillotti said that in Accumoli he saw over 15 people digging with their bare hands to save a family of four with two children. He said: 'I can hear one of the children screaming'.

Wednesday’s disaster is the biggest in the region since April 2009 when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake occurred 28 miles to the south east of Norcia near the town of L’Aquila, killing 295 people and injuring 1,000. That disaster led to lengthy recriminations over lax building controls and the failure of authorities to warn residents that a quake could be imminent.

The first victims of the devastating quake were an elderly couple whose home collapsed in Pescara del Tronto, in the Marche region, around ten miles from the epicentre. A family of four, including a eight-month-old baby and his brother, nine, were also reported dead in the town of Accumoli.

As rescue workers carried away the body of the infant, carefully covered by a small blanket, the children's grandmother blamed God: 'He took them all at once,' she wailed.

Two brothers, aged four and seven, were pulled from the rubble nearby after hiding under a bed with their grandmother as the building fell down. Some 100 people were still unaccounted for in the village of Arquata del Tronto.

A newborn baby was also found dead after being pulled from a family home in the center of Arquata del Tronto.

The quake hit during the summer when the populations of the towns and villages in the area, normally low during the rest of the year, are swelled by holidaymakers.

Accumoli mayor Stefano Petrucci said on Wednesday: 'Now that daylight has come, we see that the situation is even more dreadful than we feared, with buildings collapsed, people trapped under the rubble and no sound of life.

'We have a tragedy here. Four people are under the rubble, but they are not showing any sign of life. Two parents and two children.

'It is a disaster, we have no light, no telephones, the rescue services have not got here yet.'

The quake also destroyed homes and buried people under rubble in the small town of Amatrice, where many more are feared dead.

'The roads in and out of town are cut off. Half the town is gone,' said the town's mayor Sergio Pirozzi.

He added: 'There are people under the rubble... There's been a landslide and a bridge might collapse. The situation is dramatic, there are many dead. I cannot give a toll for now because rescue efforts are under way and it is very, very difficult'.

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 aftershocks continued into the early hours.

'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.'

Another resident said she had been woken by the shaking in time to witness the wall of her bedroom cracking open. She was able to escape into the street with her children.

One witness named Marco, a sanitation worker from Amatrice, told Repubblica how everything 'fell apart' in an instant.

'It was a miracle for me to survive... I just woke up when suddenly everything collapsed. Ten second were enough to destroy everything,' he said.

A witness in Configno, near Amatrice, recalled: 'It was a nightmare. We woke up at 3.35am, the furniture falling down, walls moving more than a meter. We rushed out, many are still in their underpants here, in the street. We did some bonfires in the square and went to help old people to get out from their houses.'

A resident of the village told Rai that she had been woken by the shaking in time to witness the wall of her bedroom cracking open. She was able to escape into the street with her children.

A family friend of a tourist from Toronto, Canada, who was caught up in the earthquake told MailOnline how he escaped.

Silvano Rendina was awoken and 'climbed through the window of his father's ancestral home in Pescara del Tronto when the earthquake struck'. After helping numerous townsfolk escape the rubble and after daybreak, he took photos of the utterly devastated town.

Mr Rendina eventually made it to a bar in neighbouring Tresungo, which had WiFi and bottled water for rescuers coming from Pescara del Tronto.

'He said he thought they had got out all those who were verbally responsive, but reported that there were at least three other deaths other than the elderly couple reported. He said there had to be many more trapped,' family friend Mary Pat Elliott told MailOnline.

Paola Mancini, 79, told local newspaper Corriere the first words she heard were ‘Run, run, everyone outside.’

She was in the hospital Grifoni, in Amatrice, when the earthquake started. A nurse screamed for everyone to get out into the street.

‘There were two of us in the emergency room. We got up and ran as quickly as possible. We were in the hall, where we found a doctor who calmed us as much as he could.

She was admitted into the hospital on Tuesday. This morning she was in the street along with the rest of the 14 inhabitants of the hospital.

‘It has been a long and terrible shock. We have been scared, and we remain paralysed by terror. There have been moments of panic, but the nurses have been very professional and they got us all out into the street quickly.’

She said: 'The first ambulance arrived, a man on a stretcher was injured, covered by blood and shocked. Although I lived here I didn’t recognise him. He was crying and kept saying, my wife is dead because our house collapsed'.

THE EARTHQUAKE HIT SOME OF ITALY’S MOST BEAUTIFUL AREAS

The earthquake struck in the regions of Umbria, Marche and Lazio.

Umbria – sometimes called the ‘Green Heart of Italy’ - is known for its truffles, wine, abbeys, art, monuments and beautiful forests.

It’s also home to the tallest man-made waterfall in Italy - the 272ft Roman-built Cascata delle Marmore – and Lake Trasimeno.

It’s sometimes touted as ‘the new Tuscany’ and is extremely popular with tourists.

Marche, which borders the Adriatic Sea, is quieter than Umbria and is famous for its beautiful beaches, coves and cliffs – and twisty roads across its hilly heart.

It’s popular not only as a seaside destination, but for driving and hiking trips.

Lazio is the Italian region that surrounds Rome and is far less known to British visitors than the likes of Tuscany and Umbria.

Amatrice, in Lazio, which has been badly hit by the earthquake, is famous in Italy as a beauty spot and is a popular holiday destination for Romans seeking cool mountain air at the height of the summer.

The town of Amatrice is famed as the birthplace of one of the most famous Roman dishes: spaghetti all'amatriciana, a pasta dish made with bacon-like bits of cured pork jowl, pecorino cheese and tomato.

The quake also struck just 30 miles from the historic town of Assisi.

Link to Photos - Videos:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... shock.html

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Italy earthquake: At least three Britons killed, official says

At least three British citizens were among those killed in the earthquake in central Italy, an official from the town of Amatrice has told the BBC.

It comes after the UK government said it had offered help with the recovery effort following Wednesday's quake, which killed at least 250 people.

Amatrice is one of the worst affected areas, along with the towns of Arquata, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto.

The Foreign Office has not confirmed the deaths of the British nationals.

The 6.2-magnitude quake hit at 03:36 (02:36 BST), 100km (65 miles) north-east of Rome in mountainous central Italy.

About 5,000 rescue workers are combing through rubble for survivors using heavy machinery or bare hands.

More updates:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37189566

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Italy earthquake: Aftershocks hamper rescue efforts

Hundreds of aftershocks have rocked devastated areas of central Italy, hampering search efforts after a deadly earthquake.

A strong tremor with magnitude 4.3 struck on Thursday afternoon, sending rescuers fleeing from already fragile buildings.

About 5,000 rescue workers are combing through rubble for survivors using heavy machinery or bare hands.

At least 250 people are now known to have died after Wednesday's quake.

The 6.2-magnitude quake hit at 03:36 (01:36 GMT), 100km (65 miles) north-east of Rome in mountainous central Italy.

More than 300 people have been treated in hospital and dozens are believed to be trapped under rubble.

Worst affected are the towns of Amatrice, Arquata, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto.

The towns are usually sparsely populated but have been swelled by tourists visiting for summer, making estimates for the precise number missing difficult.

Foreign nationals are among those believed to have been killed or caught up in the quake. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said "a number of British nationals have been affected".

The hunt for survivors continued throughout Wednesday night and into Thursday. With many buildings unsafe, some people were forced to sleep in their cars or in tents.

Search teams have asked locals to disable their wi-fi passwords to help efforts.

The Italian Red Cross says residents' home networks can assist with communications during the search for survivors.

Rescuers have advised journalists and bystanders to leave Amatrice urgently, as "the town is crumbling", the BBC's Jenny Hill says.

Two firemen burrowed deep into the rubble looking for a survivor. "It's a dog," one of them shouted out.

For half an hour the men kept digging. They passed water down to be given to the animal. And eventually they worked it free, then emerged, carrying it to the surface. There was a ripple of applause in the crowd.

"It doesn't matter to us if it's a person or an animal, we save it," said Gianni Macerata, the fire officer in charge.

So the digging goes on. But so little is left of Pescara del Tronto it is unlikely that more survivors will be found here.

It seems unlikely too that this ancient little place, that has stood for centuries, can ever be rebuilt. Hundreds of years of history ended in an instant.

In another hard-hit village, Pescara del Tronto, a young girl was pulled alive from the rubble late on Wednesday after being trapped for 17 hours.

Rescuers say they still hope to find survivors, noting that one was pulled from ruins in L'Aquila in 2009 three days after an earthquake that killed more than 300 people.

But an official with the fire department, Lorenzo Botti, admitted they were facing a race against time.

"The chances of finding people alive in these conditions, in this type of setting, well, it's challenging.

"We need to hope and we need to work and we need to believe there's someone out there alive who we can save."

Italy is vulnerable to earthquakes, sitting on two fault lines.

Some in the Italian press wondered why more had not been done to improve building standards in quake prone-areas.

"I have to say that the anger is stronger than the pain - the anger at the thought that this destruction could have been avoided," Dacia Maraini said in the Corriere Della Sera.

Link to Photos - Video:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37188301

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How 98 aftershocks rocked devastated areas of central Italy in the first 36 hours after the quake.

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