Death toll in Italy quake rises to 73

People stand next collapsed buildings following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy. - Reuters

ROME: A powerful earthquake that struck central Italy on Wednesday has left at least 73 people dead, the country’s civil protection unit said.

Immacolata Postiglione, the head of the unit’s emergency department, announced the new toll at a press conference in Rome as rescue efforts continued in the mountain villages devastated by the quake.