The scale of the devastating Italian earthquake was laid bare this morning as shocking pictures and terrifying eyewitness accounts revealed how four towns were almost wiped off the map in just a matter of seconds.
At least 38 people were killed, including two babies, and 150 people are missing, believed to be trapped under rubble, after the 6.2-magnitude quake struck at 3.30am local time while villagers slept in their beds.
Today rescuers spoke of hearing children's screams from the rubble and locals were spotted frantically digging with their bare hands to try and save loved ones.
The quake which devastated the Umbrian mountainside towns and villages of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto was so powerful that it even rocked buildings in the centre of Rome more than 100 miles away and was felt as far away as Croatia.
Survivors today described 'apocalyptic' scenes in towns and villages near the city of Perugia - the capital of the tourist-packed Umbrian region, which is especially popular with British holidaymakers.
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.
'We can hear children screaming in the rubble': Desperate hunt for survivors as rescue workers dig with their bare hands after 6.2 magnitude earthquake rocks central Italy killing at least 38 and leaving 150 missing
The 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck near Norcia in Umbria, central Italy, at around 3.30am local time
38 dead including eight-month-old baby, his brother, nine, and their parents, who were buried in their sleep
The hardest-hit towns were reported as Amatrice and Accumoli - some areas are completely cut off
Elderly couple from Pescara del Tronto have died - 100 people still missing in village of Arquata del Tronto
A newborn baby was found dead after being pulled from a family home in the same village
Quake shook buildings in the capital Rome - around 100 miles away - and was felt across Italy and in Croatia
Mayor of Amatrice:'The roads in and out of town are cut off. Half the town is gone - there are many dead'
Umbrian region is packed with tourists - popular with Britons and also Italians escaping summer heat
Are you caught up in the Italian earthquake? Send your photographs to pictures@mailonline.co.uk or email sarah.dean@mailonline.co.uk
By Sarah Dean and Martin Robinson, Uk Chief Reporter and Ted Thornhill for MailOnline
24 August 2016
The scale of the devastating Italian earthquake was laid bare this morning as shocking pictures and terrifying eyewitness accounts revealed how four towns were almost wiped off the map in just a matter of seconds.
At least 38 people were killed, including two babies, and 150 people are missing, believed to be trapped under rubble, after the 6.2-magnitude quake struck at 3.30am local time while villagers slept in their beds.
Today rescuers spoke of hearing children's screams from the rubble and locals were spotted frantically digging with their bare hands to try and save loved ones.
The quake which devastated the Umbrian mountainside towns and villages of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto was so powerful that it even rocked buildings in the centre of Rome more than 100 miles away and was felt as far away as Croatia.
Survivors today described 'apocalyptic' scenes in towns and villages near the city of Perugia - the capital of the tourist-packed Umbrian region, which is especially popular with British holidaymakers.
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.
Escape: An injured man covered in dust is carried out of a crumbling building on a stretcher by a team of rescue workers in Amatrice
Covered: In what looks like an image from Pompeii, the town of Amatrice is seen smothered in grey dust and rubble in this aerial photo
Agony: A man is pulled out of the rubble with a large gash in his head following the earthquake in Amatrice
Saved: A man cries (left) as the injured local is delicately pulled from the rubble while another rescuer prevents bricks from sliding down on top of him
Ripped open: The bedroom interior of one resident's home in Pescara del Tronto is about the only thing that remains intact
In ruins: Barely any buildings remain intact in the town of Pescara del Tronto after the devastating earthquake
Survivor: A dust-covered man trapped in the rubble of his home as he slept is pulled from a hole by rescuers in Amatrice this morning
Help: A team of rescue workers and local men carry a body on a stretcher out of the rubble in the central Italian town of Amatrice
Bloodied: An injured nun checks her mobile phone as she lies near a ladder and a blanket following an earthquake in Amatrice
Huddled: A shocked woman and man are seen wrapped in blankets in front of collapsed houses in Amatrice, central Italy
Bandaged: A man who suffered a head injury during the devastating earthquake is pictured in the town of Amatrice
Debris: This is an overhead view of Amatrice, whose historic centre has been wiped out by the powerful earthquake overnight
Collapsed: An unconscious survivor on a makeshift stretcher is carried from the what remains of a collapsed building in Amatrice
Shocking: A survivor in Amatrice is helped to safety after a powerful earthquake has rocked Italy overnight killing at least 38 people and burying many more as they slept
Grief: An Italian sobs in the rubble outside his damaged home as people said villages and towns have been destroyed by the 6.2 magnitude earthquake
At least ten people have been killed after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked central Italy (pictured, rescuers carry a man from the rubble in the town of Amatrice)
Helped to safety: A woman is carried down a ladder from her upstairs window, which has a gaping hole in the wall
Support: A family huddle together under blankets along with their pet dalmatian as they recover from the shock
In crisis: A local woman sits on a step with her dog after surviving the quake (left). An elderly woman cries with her head in her hand as the realisation of what has happened sinks in
Damaged: The mayor of Amatrice (pictured) which has been hit by a landslide following the quake, wiping much of it out
Strong tremors were felt in the capital Rome, more than 100 miles from the epicenter near the city of Perugia - the epicentre was between Norcia and Accumoli
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'.
Today’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.
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.
One person has died and a family of four including two young children, aged 8 months and 9 years, are feared dead in their collapsed house in Accumoli, according to its mayor.
Stefano Petrucci said: '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.
Hard to help: Because of the mountainous location of the villages hit by the earthquake many of the roads are inaccessible and helicopters are being used to rescue locals from towns such as Pescara del Tronto (pictured)
Wiped out: An aerial view of Pescara del Tronto shows how the strength of the earthquake flattened towns
Apocalyptic: Streams of rescue workers climb the rubble in Pescara del Tronto as they desperately seek survivors
Nothing left: The whole mountainside town of Pescara del Tronto appears to be in ruins and any remaining buildings look close to collapse
'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.
An aerial photograph from the Italian Fire Brigade shows the collapsed and damaged houses in Amatrice
A video has emerged of a young girl covered in dust being carried to safety after she was pulled from the rubble in Amatrice
Desperate: This is all that is left of a building in Amatrice where emergency services and volunteers pull away tiles and rubble searching for victims
Busy: The area of Umbria is hugely popular with tourists, and some Britons have been caught up in today's chaos
Swathed in blankets, a heavily wounded man gazes at his destroyed hometown of Amatrice which has been cut off from the world after its roads were buried in rubble
Nothing left: This shop's sign is hanging off and its walls are collapsed after the quake shook the area at around 3.30am
Search: People caught up in the aftermath have said that they have heard many voices coming from the rubble
Distraught: A man stands on his damaged home after a strong heartquake hit Amatrice overnight
Contrast: The intact kitchen of this home lies completely undamaged - but exposed to the outside world after its wall fell away
Scramble: People are fighting through stone, metal and tiles to find anyone who may be trapped under the fallen buildings
Rush: At least ten people are believed to be dead in the incident - others are being taken away on makeshift stretchers like this one
Carnage: This car was left covered in dust and rocks from a falling wall as it tore through central Italy
One witness named Marco, a sanitation worker from Amatrice, told La Repubblicca 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.'
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.
'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.
'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.'
In Amatrice, the ANSA news agency reported two bodies had been pulled from one building. The Rev. Fabio Gammarota told ANSA another three were killed in a separate collapse.
Amatrice Mayor 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.
Aleandro Petrucci, the mayor of nearby Arquata del Tronto, said Pescara was one of 'two or three hamlets that have just completely disintegrated.'
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.
Two bodies were recovered from rubble in Amatrice, a mountain village in neighbouring Lazio that was packed with visitors at the peak of the summer season.
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'.
Residents and photographers stand next to damaged buildings after the strong heartquake hit Amatrice
An injured woman in her night clothes is carried by rescuers amid the rubble of collapsed buildings in Amatrice
Collapsed houses are seen crumbling down the mountain side in Pescara del Tronto, near Arquata del Tronto municipality
A man is carried on a stretcher after being rescued from the rubble in the devastated town of Arquata del Tronto
EUROPE'S DEADLIEST EARTHQUAKES AND WHY ITALY IS TORMENTED BY QUAKES
Europe is no stranger to deadly earthquakes. Here we list the most devastating:
This map shows the location of the quake's epicentre and where activity has been measured
28 December 1908 –Sicily and southern Italy. This magnitude 7.1 earthquake almost completely destroyed the Sicilian port city of Messina and Reggio Calabria in southern Italy. Between 75,000 and 200,000 people were killed although some estimates put the deathtoll at 95,000.
11 January 1693 – Sicily. The most powerful earthquake in Italian history, this magnitude 7.4 quake destroyed at last 70 towns and cities. It caused the death of around 60,000 people.
1 November 1755 – Lisbon, Portugal. Known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, it struck on the holiday day of All Saint’s Day at around 9.40am, sparking fires and a tsunami. Geologists have estimated it had a magnitude of between 8.5 and 9. Lisbon was almost totally destroyed and it is thought that a fifth of the city’s population perished. A further 10,000 are thought to have died in Morocco, bringing the deathtoll to an estimated 50,000.
26 December 1939 – Erzincan, Turkey. With a recorded magnitude of 7.8, this quake caused extensive damage around Erzincan and along the Kelkit River. Around 32,700 people died.
13 January 1915 – Abruzzi, central Italy. This magnitude 6.7 earthquake destroyed the town of Avezzano which sat directly over the epicentre. It left 32,000 people dead and caused $60 million of damage.
17 August 1999 – Turkey. More than 17,000 people were killed and 50,000 injured in this magnitude 7.6 earthquake. Nearly 37 seconds of strong shaking caused widespread damage in Istanbul, Izmit, Kocaeli and Sakarya.
3 October 1914 – Burdur, Turkey. More than 17,000 houses were destroyed in this magnitude 7.0 earthquake and around 4,000 people lost their lives.
26 November 1943 – Ladik, Turkey. A magnitude 7.6 earthquake that caused the deaths of around 4,000 people and destroyed three quarters of the homes in the Ladik-Vezirkopru area.
1 February 1944 – Gerede, Turkey. About 50,000 homes were destroyed in this magnitude 6.5 earthquake and 2,790 people perished.
23 November 1980 – Campania and Basilicata, southern Italy. A magnitude 6.5 earthquake that claimed the lives of 2,735 people and left 394,000 people homeless.
At least 38 people were killed, including two babies, and 150 people are missing, believed to be trapped under rubble, after the 6.2-magnitude quake struck at 3.30am local time while villagers slept in their beds.
Today rescuers spoke of hearing children's screams from the rubble and locals were spotted frantically digging with their bare hands to try and save loved ones.
The quake which devastated the Umbrian mountainside towns and villages of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto was so powerful that it even rocked buildings in the centre of Rome more than 100 miles away and was felt as far away as Croatia.
Survivors today described 'apocalyptic' scenes in towns and villages near the city of Perugia - the capital of the tourist-packed Umbrian region, which is especially popular with British holidaymakers.
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.
'We can hear children screaming in the rubble': Desperate hunt for survivors as rescue workers dig with their bare hands after 6.2 magnitude earthquake rocks central Italy killing at least 38 and leaving 150 missing
The 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck near Norcia in Umbria, central Italy, at around 3.30am local time
38 dead including eight-month-old baby, his brother, nine, and their parents, who were buried in their sleep
The hardest-hit towns were reported as Amatrice and Accumoli - some areas are completely cut off
Elderly couple from Pescara del Tronto have died - 100 people still missing in village of Arquata del Tronto
A newborn baby was found dead after being pulled from a family home in the same village
Quake shook buildings in the capital Rome - around 100 miles away - and was felt across Italy and in Croatia
Mayor of Amatrice:'The roads in and out of town are cut off. Half the town is gone - there are many dead'
Umbrian region is packed with tourists - popular with Britons and also Italians escaping summer heat
Are you caught up in the Italian earthquake? Send your photographs to pictures@mailonline.co.uk or email sarah.dean@mailonline.co.uk
By Sarah Dean and Martin Robinson, Uk Chief Reporter and Ted Thornhill for MailOnline
24 August 2016
The scale of the devastating Italian earthquake was laid bare this morning as shocking pictures and terrifying eyewitness accounts revealed how four towns were almost wiped off the map in just a matter of seconds.
At least 38 people were killed, including two babies, and 150 people are missing, believed to be trapped under rubble, after the 6.2-magnitude quake struck at 3.30am local time while villagers slept in their beds.
Today rescuers spoke of hearing children's screams from the rubble and locals were spotted frantically digging with their bare hands to try and save loved ones.
The quake which devastated the Umbrian mountainside towns and villages of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto was so powerful that it even rocked buildings in the centre of Rome more than 100 miles away and was felt as far away as Croatia.
Survivors today described 'apocalyptic' scenes in towns and villages near the city of Perugia - the capital of the tourist-packed Umbrian region, which is especially popular with British holidaymakers.
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.
Escape: An injured man covered in dust is carried out of a crumbling building on a stretcher by a team of rescue workers in Amatrice
Covered: In what looks like an image from Pompeii, the town of Amatrice is seen smothered in grey dust and rubble in this aerial photo
Agony: A man is pulled out of the rubble with a large gash in his head following the earthquake in Amatrice
Saved: A man cries (left) as the injured local is delicately pulled from the rubble while another rescuer prevents bricks from sliding down on top of him
Ripped open: The bedroom interior of one resident's home in Pescara del Tronto is about the only thing that remains intact
In ruins: Barely any buildings remain intact in the town of Pescara del Tronto after the devastating earthquake
Help: A team of rescue workers and local men carry a body on a stretcher out of the rubble in the central Italian town of Amatrice
Bloodied: An injured nun checks her mobile phone as she lies near a ladder and a blanket following an earthquake in Amatrice
Huddled: A shocked woman and man are seen wrapped in blankets in front of collapsed houses in Amatrice, central Italy
Bandaged: A man who suffered a head injury during the devastating earthquake is pictured in the town of Amatrice
Debris: This is an overhead view of Amatrice, whose historic centre has been wiped out by the powerful earthquake overnight
Collapsed: An unconscious survivor on a makeshift stretcher is carried from the what remains of a collapsed building in Amatrice
Shocking: A survivor in Amatrice is helped to safety after a powerful earthquake has rocked Italy overnight killing at least 38 people and burying many more as they slept
Grief: An Italian sobs in the rubble outside his damaged home as people said villages and towns have been destroyed by the 6.2 magnitude earthquake
At least ten people have been killed after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked central Italy (pictured, rescuers carry a man from the rubble in the town of Amatrice)
Helped to safety: A woman is carried down a ladder from her upstairs window, which has a gaping hole in the wall
Support: A family huddle together under blankets along with their pet dalmatian as they recover from the shock
In crisis: A local woman sits on a step with her dog after surviving the quake (left). An elderly woman cries with her head in her hand as the realisation of what has happened sinks in
Damaged: The mayor of Amatrice (pictured) which has been hit by a landslide following the quake, wiping much of it out
Strong tremors were felt in the capital Rome, more than 100 miles from the epicenter near the city of Perugia - the epicentre was between Norcia and Accumoli
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'.
Today’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.
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.
One person has died and a family of four including two young children, aged 8 months and 9 years, are feared dead in their collapsed house in Accumoli, according to its mayor.
Stefano Petrucci said: '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.
Hard to help: Because of the mountainous location of the villages hit by the earthquake many of the roads are inaccessible and helicopters are being used to rescue locals from towns such as Pescara del Tronto (pictured)
Wiped out: An aerial view of Pescara del Tronto shows how the strength of the earthquake flattened towns
Apocalyptic: Streams of rescue workers climb the rubble in Pescara del Tronto as they desperately seek survivors
Nothing left: The whole mountainside town of Pescara del Tronto appears to be in ruins and any remaining buildings look close to collapse
'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.
An aerial photograph from the Italian Fire Brigade shows the collapsed and damaged houses in Amatrice
A video has emerged of a young girl covered in dust being carried to safety after she was pulled from the rubble in Amatrice
Desperate: This is all that is left of a building in Amatrice where emergency services and volunteers pull away tiles and rubble searching for victims
Swathed in blankets, a heavily wounded man gazes at his destroyed hometown of Amatrice which has been cut off from the world after its roads were buried in rubble
Nothing left: This shop's sign is hanging off and its walls are collapsed after the quake shook the area at around 3.30am
Search: People caught up in the aftermath have said that they have heard many voices coming from the rubble
Distraught: A man stands on his damaged home after a strong heartquake hit Amatrice overnight
Contrast: The intact kitchen of this home lies completely undamaged - but exposed to the outside world after its wall fell away
Scramble: People are fighting through stone, metal and tiles to find anyone who may be trapped under the fallen buildings
Rush: At least ten people are believed to be dead in the incident - others are being taken away on makeshift stretchers like this one
Carnage: This car was left covered in dust and rocks from a falling wall as it tore through central Italy
One witness named Marco, a sanitation worker from Amatrice, told La Repubblicca 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.'
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.
'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.
'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.'
In Amatrice, the ANSA news agency reported two bodies had been pulled from one building. The Rev. Fabio Gammarota told ANSA another three were killed in a separate collapse.
Amatrice Mayor 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.
Aleandro Petrucci, the mayor of nearby Arquata del Tronto, said Pescara was one of 'two or three hamlets that have just completely disintegrated.'
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.
Two bodies were recovered from rubble in Amatrice, a mountain village in neighbouring Lazio that was packed with visitors at the peak of the summer season.
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'.
Residents and photographers stand next to damaged buildings after the strong heartquake hit Amatrice
An injured woman in her night clothes is carried by rescuers amid the rubble of collapsed buildings in Amatrice
Collapsed houses are seen crumbling down the mountain side in Pescara del Tronto, near Arquata del Tronto municipality
A man is carried on a stretcher after being rescued from the rubble in the devastated town of Arquata del Tronto
Europe is no stranger to deadly earthquakes. Here we list the most devastating:
This map shows the location of the quake's epicentre and where activity has been measured
28 December 1908 –Sicily and southern Italy. This magnitude 7.1 earthquake almost completely destroyed the Sicilian port city of Messina and Reggio Calabria in southern Italy. Between 75,000 and 200,000 people were killed although some estimates put the deathtoll at 95,000.
11 January 1693 – Sicily. The most powerful earthquake in Italian history, this magnitude 7.4 quake destroyed at last 70 towns and cities. It caused the death of around 60,000 people.
1 November 1755 – Lisbon, Portugal. Known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, it struck on the holiday day of All Saint’s Day at around 9.40am, sparking fires and a tsunami. Geologists have estimated it had a magnitude of between 8.5 and 9. Lisbon was almost totally destroyed and it is thought that a fifth of the city’s population perished. A further 10,000 are thought to have died in Morocco, bringing the deathtoll to an estimated 50,000.
26 December 1939 – Erzincan, Turkey. With a recorded magnitude of 7.8, this quake caused extensive damage around Erzincan and along the Kelkit River. Around 32,700 people died.
13 January 1915 – Abruzzi, central Italy. This magnitude 6.7 earthquake destroyed the town of Avezzano which sat directly over the epicentre. It left 32,000 people dead and caused $60 million of damage.
17 August 1999 – Turkey. More than 17,000 people were killed and 50,000 injured in this magnitude 7.6 earthquake. Nearly 37 seconds of strong shaking caused widespread damage in Istanbul, Izmit, Kocaeli and Sakarya.
3 October 1914 – Burdur, Turkey. More than 17,000 houses were destroyed in this magnitude 7.0 earthquake and around 4,000 people lost their lives.
26 November 1943 – Ladik, Turkey. A magnitude 7.6 earthquake that caused the deaths of around 4,000 people and destroyed three quarters of the homes in the Ladik-Vezirkopru area.
1 February 1944 – Gerede, Turkey. About 50,000 homes were destroyed in this magnitude 6.5 earthquake and 2,790 people perished.
23 November 1980 – Campania and Basilicata, southern Italy. A magnitude 6.5 earthquake that claimed the lives of 2,735 people and left 394,000 people homeless.
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