Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, declared a state of emergency after the magnitude 6.3 quake struck near the city of L'Aquila, in the mountainous Abruzzo region east of Rome, early on Monday morning."Thousands of people [could be left] homeless and thousands of buildings collapsed or damaged," Agostino Miozzo, an official at the civil protection ministry, said.
Local news agencies reported that people were feared trapped under the rubble and rescue services have been deployed to the area.
Guido Bertolaso, head of Italy's public safety department, said there would be "numerous victims, many injured and so many collapsed homes," the ANSA news agency reported. "It's an event that will mobilise the nation for many weeks."Part of a university residence and a church tower were among the buildings that had collapsed in L'Aquila, officials said.
Television footage showed rubble blocking streets in the town and burying several parked cars. "Police are asking people to stay away from buildings, away from lampposts, away from anything that could fall," Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from L'Aquila, said.
"Many of these buildings are clearly showing signs of cracks, showing signs of broken windows, glass is scattered all along the streets.There are fears that aftershocks could trigger more collapses and trap more people." he said
Courtesy: Al Jazeera
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