Photos show the scene in Italy after deadly earthquake hits
UPDATE Aug. 24 10:29 a.m. PT: Italian Premier Matteo Renzi has said the death toll has risen to 120.
On Wednesday morning just after 3:30 a.m. local time, central Italy was struck with a 6.2-magnitude earthquake leaving at least 120 people dead and many trapped underneath the rubble.
As rescue teams continue to search for survivors in the aftermath of the destruction, photographs of injured residents, demolished homes and buildings in the areas of Amatrice and Pescara del Tronto, Italy show the severity of the situation.
You May Also Like
In an interview with Italian news agency ANSA, Sergio Pirozzi, mayor of Amatrice, explained that "half of the town is gone."
"The situation is dramatic. There are so many dead I cannot make an estimate," he said. "We have already extracted several dead bodies but we do not know how many there are there below."
Here is a glimpse at just how devastating the damage in central Italy is as a result of the earthquake.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Lili Sams is a Photo Editor at Mashable, where she works to tell compelling stories utilizing the visual medium of photography. She graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism .
