Italy sources have stated that many of the dead were in Accumoli, close to the epicenter, and a short distance away in Amatrice, which was largely reduced to rubble and the village of Pescara del Tronto was leveled to the ground and the number of dead was anticipated to rise.
The Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has paid tribute to the volunteers and civil defense officials, who had rushed to the scene in the middle of the night and used their bare hands to dig for survivors, where some buildings in the capital shook for 20 seconds as the quake struck the regional border area of Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche.
Meanwhile local authorities were unsure of the full extent of casualties but 28 deaths were reported in Accumoli and Amatrice and eleven people were reported dead including children in the neighboring villages of Pescara del Tronto and Arquata del Tronto.
Rescuers were also trying to dig out a 58 year old man who was trapped in his home and several more were missing and the town is popular with holidaymakers and most of the 2,500 people left displaced by the earthquake were said to be visitors.
