The number of people killed in the earthquake that devastated parts of central Italy on Wednesday rose to 247 on Thursday morning, regional and national officials said.
And many residents of the region have been jolted awake by a strong aftershock, which struck at about 5:40 a.m. local time Thursday.
The U.S. Geological Survey put its magnitude at 4.7 with the epicentre about 7 kilometres east of Norcia, with a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres.
Rescue crews using bulldozers and their bare hands have been racing to dig out survivors Thursday after three towns were reduced to rubble.
Even with the raised death toll, the number of dead and missing is still uncertain given the thousands of vacationers in the area for summer’s final days.
Residents wakened before dawn by the temblor emerged from their crumbled homes to find what they described as apocalyptic scenes, with entire blocks of buildings turned into piles of sand and rock, thick dust choking the air and a putrid smell of gas.
“The town isn’t here anymore,” said Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of the hardest-hit town, Amatrice. “I believe the toll will rise.”
The magnitude 6.2 quake struck at 3:36 a.m. on Wednesday and was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome, where residents woke to a long swaying followed by aftershocks. The temblor shook the Lazio region and Umbria and Le Marche on the Adriatic coast, a highly seismic area that has witnessed major quakes in the past and continued to shake early Thursday with aftershocks.
Dozens of people were pulled out alive by rescue teams and volunteers that poured in from around Italy.
In the evening, about 17 hours after the quake struck, firefighters pulled a 10-year-old girl alive from the rubble in Pescara del Tronto.