A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck central Italy early on Wednesday, leaving buildings in ruins and areas without power near the epicentre Rieti. The US Geological Survey said the quake hit near the town of Norcia in the region of Umbria at 3.36am. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre put the magnitude at 6.1 and said the epicentre was north-east of Rome, near Rieti. The quake was felt as far away as Rome, about 150km away from the epicentre, as homes in the historic centre swayed about 3.30am local time. Police have confirmed that an elderly couple was killed in the disaster after their home collapsed. Witnesses told Italian media that many buildings had collapsed in villages close to the epicentre of the quake.

Residents of Rome, 170km (105 miles) from the registered epicentre, were woken by the quake, which rattled furniture and swayed lights in most of central Italy. A 5.5 magnitude aftershock hit the same region an hour after the initial quake. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s spokesman said the government was in touch with the country’s civil protection agency and following the situation closely. In 2009, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in the same region and killed more than 300 people. The earlier earthquake struck L'Aquila in central Italy, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of the latest quake.