Be Informed: 'The town isn't here anymore': At least 22 dead - including two children - and many more feared buried under rubble as 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocks central Italy in dead of night

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck near Norcia in Umbria, central Italy, at around 3.30am local time

22 dead including eight-month-old baby, his brother, nine, and their parents, who were buried in their sleep

The hardest-hit towns were reported as Amatrice and Accumoli - some areas are completely cut off

Elderly couple from Pescara del Tronto have died - 100 people still missing in village of Arquata del Tronto.

Quake shook buildings in the capital Rome - around 100 miles away - and was felt across Italy and in Croatia

Mayor of Amatrice: 'The roads in and out of town are cut off. Half the town is gone - there are many dead'

Umbrian region is packed with tourists - popular with Britons and also Italians escaping summer heat

By MARTIN ROBINSON, UK CHIEF REPORTER and TED THORNHILL FOR BE INFORMED

PUBLISHED: 02:36 GMT, 24 August 2016 | UPDATED: 09:11 GMT, 24 August 2016

A powerful earthquake has rocked Italy overnight killing at least 22 people including two children and burying many more as they slept.

The 6.2-magnitude quake at around 3.30am local time was so powerful it rocked buildings in the centre of Rome more than 100 miles away and was felt across Italy.

Survivors have described 'apocalyptic' scenes in towns and villages near the city of Perugia - the capital of the tourist-packed Umbrian region, which is especially popular with British holidaymakers.

At least 22 are feared dead in the earthquake after people were crushed by falling buildings or suffocated by the rubble - rescuers have pulled out several from the ruins but can still hear voices from below.

Its epicentre was in Norcia in Umbria, about 105 miles north east of Rome, while the hardest-hit towns were reported as Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto. Falling bridges and landslides mean some areas are still cut off with emergency teams can only get there on foot.

The mayor of Accumoli, Stefano Petrucci, said this morning: 'My town isn't here anymore' as people were carried out of ruined buildings on stretchers and people desperately searched the debris for survivors or sobbed as they inspected their own ruined homes.

The first victims of the devastating quake were an elderly couple whose home collapsed in Pescara del Tronto, in the Marche region, around ten miles from the epicentre. A family of four, including a eight-month-old baby and his brother, nine, were also reported dead in the town of Accumoli.

Two brothers, aged four and seven, were pulled from the rubble nearby after hiding under a bed with their grandmother as the building fell down. Some 100 people were still unaccounted for in the village of Arquata del Tronto.

Survivor: A dust-covered man trapped in the rubble of his home as he slept is pulled from a hole by rescuers in Amatrice this morning

Agony: A man is pulled out of the rubble with a large gash in his head following the earthquake in Amatrice

Bloodied: An injured nun checks her mobile phone as she lies near a ladder and a blanket following an earthquake in Amatrice

Huddled: A shocked woman and man are seen wrapped in blankets in front of collapsed houses in Amatrice, central Italy

Aftermath: Residents of Amatrice in central Italy has been left in ruins overnight in an earthquake that shook areas up to 100 miles away, including Rome

Debris: This is an overhead view of Amatrice, whose historic centre has been wiped out by the powerful earthquake overnight

Trail of sdestruction: Rescuers and people walk along a road following an earthquake in Accumoli, where a family of four including two children died

Collapsed: An unconscious survivor on a makeshift stretcher is carried from the what remains of a collapsed building in Amatrice

Shocking: A survivor in Amatrice is helped to safety after a powerful earthquake has rocked Italy overnight killing at least 22 people and burying many more as they slept

Grief: An Italian sobs in the rubble outside his damaged home as people said villages and towns have been destroyed by the 6.2 magnitude earthquake

At least ten people have been killed after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked central Italy (pictured, rescuers carry a man from the rubble in the town of Amatrice)

Helped to safety: A woman is carried down a ladder from her upstairs window, which has a gaping hole in the wall

Support: A family huddle together under blankets along with their pet dalmatian as they recover from the shock

Damaged: The mayor of Amatrice (pictured) which has been hit by a landslide following the quake, wiping much of it out

Shocking: Rescuers and residents clear debris in search for victims in damaged homes after the strong earthquake

Swathed in blankets, a heavily wounded man gazes at his destroyed hometown of Amatrice which has been cut off from the world after its roads were buried in rubble

Strong tremors were felt in the capital Rome, more than 100 miles from the epicenter near the city of Perugia - the epicentre was between Norcia and Accumoli

The quake hit during the summer when the populations of the towns and villages in the area, normally low during the rest of the year, are swelled by holidaymakers.

One person has died and a family of four including two young children, aged 8 months and 9 years, are feared dead in their collapsed house in Accumoli, according to its mayor.

Stefano Petrucci said: 'Now that daylight has come, we see that the situation is even more dreadful than we feared, with buildings collapsed, people trapped under the rubble and no sound of life.

'We have a tragedy here. Four people are under the rubble, but they are not showing any sign of life. Two parents and two children.

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

The quake also destroyed homes and buried people under rubble in the small town of Amatrice, where many more are feared dead.

'The roads in and out of town are cut off. Half the town is gone,' said the town's mayor Sergio Pirozzi.

He added: 'There are people under the rubble... There's been a landslide and a bridge might collapse. 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'.

The centre of Amatrice was devastated, with entire palazzos razed to the ground. Rocks and metal tumbled on to the streets and dazed residents huddled in piazzas as aftershocks continued into the early hours.

'The whole ceiling fell but did not hit me,' marveled resident Maria Gianni. 'I just managed to put a pillow on my head and I wasn't hit luckily, just slightly injured my leg.'

Another resident said she had been woken by the shaking in time to witness the wall of her bedroom cracking open. She was able to escape into the street with her children.

As daylight dawned, residents, civil protection workers and even priests began digging out with shovels, bulldozers and their bare hands, trying to reach survivors. There was a sigh of relief as a woman was pulled out alive from one building, followed by a dog.

'We need chain saws, shears to cut iron bars, and jacks to remove beams: everything, we need everything,' civil protection worker Andrea Gentili told The Associated Press.

'I don't know what to say. We are living this immense tragedy,' said the Rev. Savino D'Amelio, an Amatrice parish priest. 'We are only hoping there will be the least number of victims possible and that we all have the courage to move on.'

In Amatrice, the ANSA news agency reported two bodies had been pulled from one building. The Rev. Fabio Gammarota told ANSA another three were killed in a separate collapse.

Amatrice Mayor 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.

Aleandro Petrucci, the mayor of nearby Arquata del Tronto, said Pescara was one of 'two or three hamlets that have just completely disintegrated.'

Missing: The side of a traditional beige building is collapsed into grey rubble in the town of Amatrice

Turned inside out: The purple decor of one family's home is seen amongst the grey rubble as people search for signs of life in Amatrice

Ruins: A lamppost is seen leaning dramatically to one side next to a devastated building and rescue workers

Cry for help: This survivor looks into the rubble in Amatrice and was heard yelling to anyone who might be stuck inside

Reaction: A dust-covered man cries with his head in his hands as the shock of what has happened overnight sinks in

Decimated: An Italian clutches his child's buggy as he walks over the rubble and debris left

Piled high: The tight streets of Amatrice have been blocked by the debris from falling buildings rocked by the quake

Desperate: This is all that is left of a building in Amatrice where emergency services and volunteers pull away tiles and rubble searching for victims

Busy: The area of Umbria is hugely popular with tourists, and some Britons have been caught up in today's chaos

Nothing left: This shop's sign is hanging off and its walls are collapsed after the quake shook the area at around 3.30am

A resident of the village told Rai that she had been woken by the shaking in time to witness the wall of her bedroom cracking open. She was able to escape into the street with her children.

Silvano Rendina, from Toronto, Canada, told BE INFORMED he was awoken and managed to escape through the window of his father's ancestral home in Pescara del Tronto when the earthquake struck. After helping numerous townsfolk escape the rubble and after daybreak, he took photos of the utterly devastated town.

Two bodies were recovered from rubble in Amatrice, a mountain village in neighbouring Lazio that was packed with visitors at the peak of the summer season.

Paola Mancini, 79, told local newspaper Corriere the first words she heard were ‘Run, run, everyone outside.’

She was in the hospital Grifoni, in Amatrice, when the earthquake started. A nurse screamed for everyone to get out into the street.

‘There were two of us in the emergency room. We got up and ran as quickly as possible. We were in the hall, where we found a doctor who calmed us as much as he could.

She was admitted into the hospital on Tuesday. This morning she was in the street along with the rest of the 14 inhabitants of the hospital.

‘It has been a long and terrible shock. We have been scared, and we remain paralysed by terror. There have been moments of panic, but the nurses have been very professional and they got us all out into the street quickly.’

Sergio Pirozzi, Amatrice's mayor, said access to the village had been blocked, making it impossible for emergency services to get through 'We can hear voices under the rubble.'

Photographer Emiliano Grillotti told the Ansa news agency that in Accumoli he saw over 15 people digging with their bare hands to save a family of four with two children, according to Repubblica.

He said: 'You hear the screams of the mother and one of the children.'

And the head of the local Red Cross described how a collapsed bridge was slowing the relief effort, because help can only arrive on foot.

Italian Red Cross spokesman Tommaso Della Longa told MailOnline: ‘The first priority in the first hours after the earthquake is mobilising the emergency services teams.

‘Now the teams are in the field and they are working to find survivors.

‘The logistics aren’t so easy because there aren’t so many big roads. It’s a lot of small roads and small towns and village and groups of small houses in the mountains.

‘It’s a challenge but we are trying to manage it.’

Ryan Sloan, a lawyer based in Glasgow, described the moment the earthquake woke him in Rome as the 'most terrifying moment' of his life.

He said: 'Woke up as felt like someone violently rocking bed.'

Sarah Conrad, who works for YouTube in London and is visiting the Italian capital, said she was woken up in the early hours and also felt aftershocks.

She tweeted: 'Pretty sure I was just woken up by an £earthquake in £rome.

'I thought someone snuck into my hotel room & was jumping on the bed. Both scary!'

Paul O' Halloran, whose Twitter profile said he was in Rome said: 'Just got woke up by an earthquake! Bed and window shutters moving!'

Toby Shaw, from Hampshire, tweeted: 'I'm really hoping that I've just experienced an earthquake in Rome, otherwise I'm not sure I want to know what it was that shook the room.'

Emergency workers help an elderly, wounded man to safety in Amatrice, where many are believed to be trapped underneath the rubble

People are feared dead in the small, rustic town of Amatrice (pictured) - which lies near the epicenter of the quake

Amatrice is famous in Italy as a beauty spot and is a popular holiday destination for Romans seeking cool mountain air at the height of the summer.

The first quake struck shortly after 3.30 am (0130 GMT), according to the United States Geological Survey, and a 5.4 magnitude aftershock followed an hour later.

USGS's PAGER system, which predicts the impact of earthquakes, issued a red alert - suggesting significant casualties and damage based on previous quake data.

A resident of the Rieti region, which is between Rome and the epicentre of the quake, told the Rainews24 channel that she and most of her neighbours had come out onto the street after feeling 'very strong shaking'.

In 2009 a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck close to the city of Aquila in the Abruzzo region and left more than 300 people dead.

That disaster led to lengthy recriminations over lax building controls and the failure of authorities to warn residents that a quake could be imminent.

Italy is often shaken by earthquakes, usually centred on the mountainous spine of the boot-shaped country.

Another quake hit the northern Emilia Romagna region in May 2012, when two violent shocks 10 days apart left 23 people dead and 14,000 others homeless.

First images of the damage in Amatrice showed cars caked in rubble and the debris of collapsed buildings sprawled across the streets.

It was so strong... It seemed the bed was walking across the room by itself with us on it

Lina Mercantini of Umbria, central Italy

Mayor Nicola Alemanno said no deaths have been reported deaths in Norcia, adding: 'The anti-seismic structures of the town have held.

'There is damage to the historic heritage and buildings, but we do not have any serious injuries.'

A family of four were also reported dead in the town of Accumoli - just four miles from where the source of the quake (pictured, a rescue worker inspects the damage in Amatrice)

Together: A sports team rests on the ground under white blankets after the town of Amatrice was struck

Strong shockwaves were felt as far as the capital Rome, more than 100 miles from where the 'shallow' quake first struck at around 3.30am local time.

There have already been 'reports of victims in the quake zone', according to Italian Fire Department spokesman Luca Cari.

The worst hit towns were believed to be Accumoli, Amatrice, Posta and Arquata del Tronto.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's office said rescue teams were being sent to the worst-hit areas.

'It was so strong... It seemed the bed was walking across the room by itself with us on it,' said Lina Mercantini of Umbria, central Italy.

Olga Urbani, in the nearby town of Scheggino, said: 'Dear God, it was awful. The walls creaked and all the books fell off the shelves.'

The quake is believed to have damaged buildings across the central region while residents in Rome reported their houses 'swaying'.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's spokesman said on Twitter that the government was in touch with the country's civil protection agency.

The USGS initially reported the magnitude of the quake at 6.4, saying it was very shallow - only 6.2 miles (10 km) deep.

The last major earthquake to hit Italy struck the central city of L'Aquila in 2009, killing more than 300 people.