Matteo Renzi, the Italian Prime Minister, said the death toll from the magnitude-6 quake that struck at 0136 GMT has risen to 120 people, amid fears that the temblor could yet claim more lives.
Renzi said late on Wednesday in Amatrice that the toll was expected to rise further as many victims were still trapped under rubble.
He said the rescue workers were battling against time to find survivors from an earthquake.
Renzi said a total of 368 injured and sick people had been rescued from the two worst-hit villages, Amatrice and Accumoli, after the earthquake.
He said: “Italy was now standing together in solidarity to overcome the great challenges it faces after the quake, dozens of people are still missing with hopes of finding them alive fading.”
Renzi said the quake was felt as far away as Rome, which lies about 150 kilometres south-west of the epicentre, which lay at a depth of 4.2 km in a wooded area in the province of Rieti.
The Prime Minister said it was followed by more than 50 aftershocks, the strongest a 5.4-magnitude quake at 0233 GMT.
Renzi pledged that government would leave nobody uncared for and commended the people, including many who had searched for survivors with their bare hands, for aiding the rescue effort.
Amatrice Mayor, Sergio Pirozzi, said many were still trapped under the rubble and the city is preparing a spot for the bodies.
Pirozzi said: “Half of the town is gone, it is a pain without limits.”
dpa/NAN.
