Killer quake devastates string of towns

At least 73 people were killed and thousands left homeless after a magnitude-6.2 earthquake devastated a string of mountainous towns in central Italy on Wednesday, trapping residents under piles of rubble.

The quake struck in the early hours of the morning when most people were asleep, destroying homes and buckling roads in a cluster of towns and villages about 140 km east of Rome.

The emergency services released an aerial photograph showing whole areas of the town of Amatrice flattened, while debris filled the streets in nearby Accumoli.