At
least 120 people have been killed and dozens more are missing after a
powerful earthquake struck central Italy, reducing ancient towns to
rubble.
The
European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said the epicentre was
northeast of Rome, near Norcia in Umbria, while the US Geological Survey
(USGS) put the magnitude at 6.2.
"It
was so strong. It seemed the bed was walking across the room by itself
with us on it," said Lina Mercantini, of Cesalli, Umbria.
As
dawn broke, emergency services and residents were scrambling to rescue
people trapped under the ruins of razed old buildings, digging with
shovels, bulldozers and even their bare hands to reach survivors.
