At least 73 reported dead as earthquake hits central Italy

The quake struck at 3:36 a.m., the agency had said in a statement earlier on Wednesday. The death toll continued to climb throughout the day as rescuers search for survivors and bodies amid the debris in the regions of Lazio, Umbria and Marche.

“Everything collapsed, there was just dust, and now there’s nothing there,” said Silvia, a young woman standing on the side of the road in the hard-hit village of Amatrice, who declined to give her last name.

The 6.0-magnitude tremor hit at a depth of 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) around 43 kilometers from the town of Rieti, according to the Italian Institute of Geology and Vulcanology. Shaking was felt in buildings in Rome and there were a series of aftershocks reported. 

Relief efforts were hampered by damage to radio and satellite links, said Civil Protection.

"We must be equipped for the emergencies of the next few hours, days and weeks, but for now the priority above all is to continue searching through the rubble," Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said in a televised address. "I will visit the affected area late this afternoon."

The quake and its aftermath may further complicate Renzi's efforts to put the country back on a stable economic path. He already is facing a make-or-break referendum on constitutional reform in the autumn.
 
Read more at Bloomberg