Italy earthquake: Death toll rises to 247; Sushma Swaraj says no Indian casualty

There is no report of any Indian casualty in the massive earthquake which rocked Italy today claiming several lives, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Thursday.

“Massive earthquake of 6.2 magnitude has struck Italy.  @IndiainItaly has informed me that there is no report of any Indian casualty,” she tweeted.

Scores of buildings were reduced to dusty piles of masonry in communities close to the epicentre of the quake, which had a magnitude of between 6.0 and 6.2.

Hundreds of people spent a chilly night in hastily assembled tents with the risk of aftershocks making it too risky for them to return home.

The death toll, from a powerful earthquake, in Italy rose to 247 on Thursday, officials said, as rescuers desperately searched for survivors in the rubble of devastated mountain villages.