People stand along a road following a quake in Amatrice.

At least three people have died after a powerful earthquake struck central Italy in the early hours of Wednesday, local media reported.

The first confirmed victims of a quake which devastated dozens of villages were an elderly couple whose home collapsed at Pescara del Tronto in the Marche region to the east of the epicentre, national broadcaster Rai and other media reported.

The AGI news agency said at least one other person had died in Accumoli, a village close to the epicentre.

“We have a tragedy here,” said the village mayor Stefano Petrucci. “For the moment one death is confirmed but there are another four people under the rubble and they are not responding.

“It is a disaster, we have no light, no telephones, the rescue services have not got here yet.”

‘The town isn’t here anymore’

The quake struck at 3:36 a.m. and was felt across a broad section of central Italy, including the capital Rome where people felt a long swaying followed by aftershocks.

First images of damage showed debris in the street and some collapsed buildings in towns and villages that dot much of the Umbrian countryside.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Center put the magnitude at 6.1. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.2 with the epicenter at Norcia, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) northeast of Rome, and with a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). The hardest-hit towns were reported as Amatrice, Accumoli and Norcia, with residents running into the streets as aftershocks continued into the early morning hours.

The mayor of Amatrice near Rieti, Sergio Pirozzi, told state-run RAI radio and Sky TG24 that residents were buried under collapsed buildings, that the lights had gone out and that heavy equipment was needed to clear streets clogged with debris.

“The town isn’t here anymore,” he said.

[vuukle]

Related articles across the web

• Mayor of quake-hit Amatrice says residents are buried under debris
• Strong quake rattles central Italy: "The town isn't here"
• Magnitude 6.1 Quake Rattles Rome and Central Italy
• Strong quake rattles central Italy: "The town isn't here"
• Strong quake rattles central Italy: "The town isn't here"
• Strong quake rattles central Italy; 'the town isn't here,' mayor says
• Strong quake rattles central Italy: "The town isn't here"
• Strong quake rattles central Italy: "The town isn't here"
• Strong quake rattles central Italy: "The town isn't here"
• Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake Hits Amatrice, Italy; Mayor says, 'The Town Isn't Here Anymore'; Many Feared Dead