At least 92 people have been killed in a powerful earthquake that struck L'Aquila in central Italy, Italian officials say.

The magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit at 0332 about 95km north-east of the capital, Rome, at a depth of 10km.

Four children were said to be among the dead, with reports of more fatalities in and around the city of L'Aquila.

A civil protection official said that 3 000 to 10 000 buildings may have been damaged by the earthquake, cited by the BBC.

Agostino Miozzo said that thousands could have been made homeless. He described scenes of panic, but said that rescue workers were on the scene.

Television footage of L'Aquila showed a number of collapsed buildings.

Officials said they feared the death toll would rise as workers made their way through the rubble.

L'Aquila, a medieval town of about 70 000 inhabitants with a number of old buildings, is the capital of the mountainous Abruzzo region. The earthquake was also felt in Rome.

An aftershock with a magnitude of 4.8 was reported about an hour later by the US Geological Survey.

Two smaller earthquakes struck the same region of Italy on Sunday but caused no damage.

The Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Ministry stated that it had no information yet regarding Bulgarian citizens being killed or injured in the earthquake.

Powerful earthquakes are relatively rare in Italy. In 2002, an earthquake in the southern Italian town of San Giuliano di Puglia killed more than 20 people.

In 1997, 13 people died when a strong earthquake struck Italy's central region.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!