A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has struck central Italy, leaving at least 13 people dead and others trapped under rubble, Italian officials said, according to BBC.
“Half the town is gone,” said the mayor of Amatrice, one of the worst areas affected.
The quake hit at 03:36 (01:36 GMT), 100km (65 miles) north-east of Rome, at a shallow depth of 10km.
The source reports, some buildings in the capital shook for 20 seconds.
Officials warned the number of fatalities was likely to rise. The head of the civil protection department compared the earthquake’s intensity to Aquila in April 2009 in which 309 people died.
