Italy: Death toll from powerful earthquake reached 247 ⁰

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that devastated parts of central Italy has reached 247 as rescue and search operations are underway to find possible survivors. On Thursday, Italy’s civil protection agency said a tally by local officials showed that 190 people were killed Rieti Province and 57 in the province of Ascoli Piceno.

According to local media, Italian emergency crews are vigorously searching search through the debris of collapsed houses in the affected areas to find more than 100 people missing a day after the quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale flattened scores of towns and villages in the central parts.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said many people were still trapped under the rubble, and vowed that “no family, no city, no hamlet will be left behind.” Officials in Italy’s civil protection agency also said there have been more than 300 aftershocks following the tremor, which was also felt in Rome, adding that searching for survivors is the top priority. The 2,000-population town of Amatrice, one of the areas hardest hit by the Wednesday quake, is now in ruins with only a few buildings left standing.

Presstv