Central Italy earthquake: death toll rises to 120 – as it happened

The medieval church of Sant’Agostino in Amatrice appears to have been badly damaged in the earthquake.

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A guide to the area said the facade of the church included a 15th-century rose window and a sculpted late Gothic entrance.

Images from the town appeared to show the rose window had been destroyed.

The church also included notable statues of the Archangel Gabriel, the Virgin Annunciate and images of monks in ornamental motif on one of its cornices.

Inside there are prized 15th-century paintings of the Annunciation and the Madonna and Child with two Angels (1492), attributed to a painter from the circle of Vittore Crivelli and Pietro Alemanno.

Damage to the area’s heritage is being assessed, according to reported.ly’s Marina Petrillo.

The Vatican has dispatched six of its firefighters to Amatrice to help with the rescue efforts, a papal spokesman told reporters.

Here’s what’s left of Pescara del Tronto where at least 10 people were killed.

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Earlier Italy’s forestry police told AP that they had extracted dozens of people alive from the town.

News footage from the hill town showed rescue workers being winched from a helicopter.

The US state department has urged Americans in Italy to contact their friends and families to offer reassurance they are safe.

The Italian news agency Ansa estimates that the death toll has increased to 63, including that figure of at least 35 dead in Amatrice given by the local mayor. Ansa’s estimate also includes 11 people confirmed to be killed in Accumoli and another 10 victims in Pescara del Tronto.

As aftershocks continue, Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology has charted a summary of seismic activity in central Italy over the last 12 hours.

Some of the victims are known to be children. Save the Children expressed its sadness and warned that children who survived were especially vulnerable to psychological trauma.

Its chief executive, Valerio Neri, said: “Children are the most vulnerable during emergencies and the impact of such events on their psyche is especially traumatic.

“To help children cope with the trauma, it is important that parents and carers find a way to stay close to them and make them feel that they are safe and secure. It is important talk and play with them and, above all, listen. It is also important to prevent your children watching television and seeing images of the disaster.”

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Photographer Massimo Percossi captured what is likely to be one of the most enduring images of the earthquake. It shows an injured nun in Amatrice checking her mobile phone as she sat next to a victim laid out on ladder and covered in a blanket.

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AP has footage of a man and a girl being rescued from the rubble in Amatrice.

At least 35 people have been killed in the town of Amatrice alone, Sky News Italy reports, citing the mayor, Sergio Perozzi.

Rai News cites the same figure.

The Italian Red Cross continues to search for survivors in the rubble of Amatrice.

AP has this video of rescue efforts in Amatrice.