16 killed as earthquake hits Italy

Apr 6 2009

Sixteen people, including a number of children, have been killed after a magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck central Italy.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck about 60 miles north east of Rome and was felt in much of central Italy.

A spokesman for the Civil Protection Department said: "The situation is very serious because the quake affected buildings."

Television footage from the scene showed residents and rescue workers hauling away debris from collapsed buildings and bloodied residents waiting to be tended to in hospital hallways.

ANSA news agency said four children died in L'Aquila - near the epicentre - after their houses collapsed.

Massimo Cialente, mayor of L'Aquila, told Sky Italia that two people were reported dead in the nearby small town of Fossa.

Mr Cialente said 100,000 people in L'Aquila had left their homes after the quake.

The quake caused a student dormitory to collapse in L'Aquila, an official said.

Britons caught up in the earthquake told how they felt their houses shaking violently for up to 30 seconds.

Matthew Peacock, who lives with his wife and child in the Umbrian town of Amelia - around 60 miles north of Rome - said he woke up feeling a "very significant shaking". He told Sky News: "It felt like the house was being shaken from the rooftop - my bed was banging against the wall and you could hear this creaking. I rushed across the hallway to my son, who's five, grabbed him and stood underneath the doorway. The shaking went on for 20 seconds or so."