Rescuers and residents clear debris in search for victims in damaged homes after a strong earthquake hit Amatrice, Italy, on Wednesday. (AFP)
Amatrice, Italy — A powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake devastated mountain villages in central Italy on Wednesday, leaving at least 18 people dead and dozens more injured or unaccounted for.
Scores of buildings were reduced to dusty piles of masonry in communities close to the epicenter of the pre-dawn quake in a remote area straddling the regions of Umbria, Marche and Lazio.
Deaths were reported in the villages of Amatrice, Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto as residents and emergency services battled frantically to rescue people trapped beneath the ruins after the quake hit as people slept.
It was Italy’s most powerful earthquake since 2009, when about 300 people died in and around the city of Aquila, just to the south of the area hit on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi cancelled a planned trip to France for a meeting with European Socialist leaders and other engagements to oversee the response to the disaster.
“The situation is dramatic, there are many dead,” said Amatrice mayor Sergio Pirozzi. “Half the village has disappeared.”
Pope Francis interrupted his weekly audience in St Peter’s square to express his shock at the news.