State broadcaster Rai News reports 21 confirmed deaths. It reports that six people were killed in the nearby village of Accumoli. There are also 10 confirmed dead in Pescara del Tronto, north of the reported epicentre, and a further five in Amatrice.
The mayor of Amatrice said dozens had been killed in the town.
Simona Mani lives in York but returned to her hometown of Acquasparta (about 90km west of epicentre) yesterday to visit her family on holiday. She gives this account:
“This was definitely the strongest experience of an earthquake I have ever had, as the epicentre was close to here and near the surface. My parents and I were abruptly awoken when we heard a loud noise and felt the house shake violently.
Some objects fell from the walls and we ran outside, as did many neighbours and most of the village. A typical quake here lasts just a few seconds, but in this case we woke up, ran out, talked to each other, and the earth kept shaking the whole time. It seems the quake lasted about 20 seconds, but it felt endless.
Fortunately our home was recently built and resistant to medium earthquakes. Our neighbours and the rest of the family also didn’t have any property damage. However, many other small villages around the area are really struggling at the moment. We hesitated going back into the house, and at about 4.30am there was an aftershock, a little less intense and shorter in time.
We kept feeling minor shakes until the early morning. Most of the people have gone back inside, but decided to sleep on the ground floors rather than their usual first floor bedrooms, so that they could escape quickly if another strong quake happened.
Some neighbours are looking for tents to sleep outside tonight, as there will probably be other aftershocks in the next few hours. Local research centres have recorded more than 50 shakes of various intensities.
We feel for the people of Accumoli, Amatrice, and all the areas that have been affected by buildings collapsing and we hope to be able to help as soon as possible.”
The mayor of Amatrice, Sergio Pirozzi, has told the Italian state broadcaster that there are “dozens of dead”. RAI News quoted him saying: “There are so many dead I cannot make an estimate. We have already extracted several dead bodies but we do not know how many there are there below.”
He added: “There are dozens of victims, many under the rubble, we are setting up a place for the bodies.”
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Both Reuters and AFP say at least 10 people were killed in the quake, citing local media. The national civil protection agency said it could not give an official toll as rescue efforts were still under way.
Deaths were reported in three villages in a mountainous area straddling the regions of Lazio and Marche: Amatrice, Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto.
“The situation is dramatic, there are many dead. I cannot give a toll for now because rescue efforts are under way and it is very, very difficult,” said the mayor of Amatrice, Sergio Pirozzi.
According to local officials, two people have been confirmed dead at Arquata, five at Amatrice and two in Accumoli with a number of people unaccounted for in all three locations.
Earlier, the Accumoli mayor, Stefano Petrucci, told RAI state broadcaster that a family of four had been buried when their house collapsed, adding that there was no indication they had survived.
RAI quoted police as saying two people were known to have died in the nearby village of Pescara del Tronto. Two bodies were removed from the debris in Amatrice.
A camper who gave his name as Jonquil describes being woken by the quake.
I was camping near Serramonacesca, about 100km south of epicentre. I was woken by a sensation similar to that of a giant taking hold of my tent and shaking it vigorously for about six seconds. It was followed by sound of falling rocks as mountainside in neighbouring valley collapses.
