Authorities say Italy earthquake death toll at 159

The side of a building is collapsed following an earthquake, in Amatrice Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016. The magnitude 6 quake struck at 3:36 a.m. and was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome where residents of the capital felt a long swaying followed by aftershocks. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)
The side of a building is collapsed following an earthquake, in Amatrice Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016. The magnitude 6 quake struck at 3:36 a.m. and was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome where residents of the capital felt a long swaying followed by aftershocks. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)

4:55 P.M. UPDATE:

Italian authorities say that the death toll in an earthquake on Wednesday has risen to 159.

The civil protection agency gave the updated figure shortly before midnight in Italy, some 20 hours after the earthquake struck. The tremors reduced three towns to rubble and sparked urgent search efforts.

Check back with Arkansas Online for updates on this developing story and read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

EARLIER:

AMATRICE, Italy — Rescue crews using bulldozers and their bare hands raced to dig out survivors from a strong earthquake that reduced three central Italian towns to rubble Wednesday. The death toll stood at 120, but the number of dead and missing was uncertain given the large number of vacationers in the area for summer's final days.

Residents wakened before dawn by the temblor emerged from their crumbled homes to find what they described as apocalyptic scenes "like Dante's Inferno," with entire blocks of buildings turned into piles of sand and rock, thick dust choking the air and a putrid smell of gas.

"The town isn't here anymore," said Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of the hardest-hit town, Amatrice. "I believe the toll will rise."

The magnitude 6 quake struck at 3:36 a.m. and was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome, where residents woke to a long swaying followed by aftershocks. The temblor shook the Lazio region and Umbria and Le Marche on the Adriatic coast, a highly seismic area that has witnessed major quakes in the past.

Dozens of people were pulled out alive by rescue teams and volunteers that poured in from around Italy.

"She's alive!" two women cheered as they ran up the street in Pescara del Tronto, one of the three hardest hit hamlets, after an 8-year-old girl was pulled from the rubble after nightfall.

And there were wails when bodies emerged.

"Unfortunately, 90 percent we pull out are dead, but some make it, that's why we are here," said Christian Bianchetti, a volunteer from Rieti who was working in devastated Amatrice where flood lights were set up so the rescue could continue through the night.

Premier Matteo Renzi visited the zone Wednesday, greeted rescue teams and survivors, and said the toll stood at 120 dead and was likely to rise. At least 368 others were injured. He promised the quake-prone area that "No family, no city, no hamlet will be left behind."

Worst affected were the tiny towns of Amatrice and Accumoli near Rieti, some 60 miles northeast of Rome, and Pescara del Tronto, some 25 kilometers further east. Italy's civil protection agency set up tent cities around each hamlet to accommodate the thousands of homeless.

Check back with Arkansas Online for updates on this developing story and read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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