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Earthquake in Italy kills 15, injures over 100

29 May 2012 18:44 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Fifteen people were killed and over 100 people were injured by a 5.8-magnitude quake that hit central Italy on Tuesday, Civil Protection Department confirmed, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The earthquake occurred shortly after 9:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) and had its epicenter in the small town of Medolla near Modena at a depth of 10 km, Italy’s Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) said.

In recent hours, a series of aftershocks has occurred in north Italy, with three over 5.0 magnitude.

Prime Minister Mario Monti promised that the state would do its best to get the quake-hit region of Emilia-Romagna back to normal.

"I guarantee that the state will do everything that it has to do, that it is possible to do, to ensure this very special, important and productive region for Italy can return to its normal life in a short period of time," Monti said.

Many buildings, including schools and hospitals, were evacuated in the surrounding area, and also in cities across central and northern Italy such as Milan and Florence, while railway services were temporarily suspended in some localities.

Various buildings and factories totally collapsed after being partly damaged by the 5.9-magnitude quake that had killed seven people and injured dozens of others on May 20.