The death toll from this morning's earthquake in Italy is believed to have increased to at least 27 as rescuers continue to search the rubble of collapsed buildings.
The tremor, which had a magnitude of 6.3, struck at around 2.30am and was centred about 60 miles north-east of Rome. The epicentre was close to the town of L'Aquila, where hundreds of buildings are believed to have collapsed, including a student dormitory and the dome of a church. The local mayor says up to 100,000 people have been forced to leave their homes, with scores of people injured by falling debris. The Italian authorities say they expect the death toll to increase further throughout the day. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has declared a state of emergency, freeing up federal funds to deal with the disaster. -- Posted By Breaking News to Break News at 4/06/2009 01:23:00 PM
