A VIOLENT earthquake rocked central Italy yesterday killing at least 100 people, injuring 1,500 and devastating a walled medieval town where buildings and homes were reduced to rubble.
Rescuers scrambled to find victims trapped under collapsed dwellings in L'Aquila, the quake's epicentre, and officials warned the toll would rise.
Some 50,000 people were made homeless, emergency services said. Many residents fled L'Aquila, some on foot.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi declared a state of emergency and cancelled a trip to Russia in order to visit the crushed capital of the Abruzzo region, about 100km northeast of Rome.
Rescue workers said at least 100 people were killed, Italian media said, while Berlusconi told a news conference here that 1500 people were injured, adding that a student from the Czech Republic was among the dead.
The quake struck just after 3.30am local time (1130 AEST) and lasted about 30 seconds, bringing down many Renaissance era and Baroque buildings, including the dome on one of L'Aquila's centuries-old churches. The city's cathedral was also damaged.
Roofs caved in on sleeping inhabitants and boulders fell off mountain slopes blocking many roads.
At least five children were among the dead in L'Aquila, according to police quoted by ANSA news agency.
The earthquake measured magnitude 6.2, according to the Italian geophysical institute.
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