Earthquake in L'Aquila - photos of the tragedy

An earthquake struck L'Aquila, Italy at 3:22am local time Monday, April 6th, followed by many aftershocks that continued to shake the medieval city. It only took about 30 seconds to cause the destruction, leaving most of the region's inhabitants without shelter. People awoke to the sounds of buildings collapsing, including one dormitory at the University of L'Aquila.
This is the deadliest quake to hit Italy in over 10 years. Around 15,000 building were damaged in the quake, including, many historical buildings.

Photos of the tragedy

Rescuers sift through the wreckage of a house in L'Aquila. Four children were reported killed after their home collapsed. (Reuters)

Rescuers called for quiet as they strained to hear for signs of life of the people trapped amid the rubble. (AFP)

Hundreds of injured survivors were taken to the local hospital, where doctors treated patients in the open air as only one operating theatre was functioning. (AFP)

An injured man walks past destroyed homes in the Italian town of Onna. Some 100,000 people have been evacuated in the area, with a tent city being prepared because of the danger of after-shocks. (Reuters)

A rescue dog from Trento inspects the rubble of collapsed buildings in the hope of finding survivors trapped beneath. At least 15 people are still unaccounted for. (Reuters)

An aerial view of a flattened building in L’Aquila. Few buildings were left unscathed and residents wondered whether it would be months or years before they could safely return. (Reuters)

People lie in hospital beds outside in the road after the earthquake caused the collapse of St. Salvatore Hospital in L’Aquila. (Reuters)

Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and Civil Protection Chief, Guido Bertolaso, meet journalists in L’Aquila, central Italy. 250 people have been killed and 1,500 injured, although this toll is yet again expected to rise as more bodies are found trapped under the rubble (AP)

A firefighter looks at a victim of the quake lying amid the wreckage of a house. 250 people have been killed in what is the worst earthquake, in terms of the death toll, to hit Italy since 2002 when 30 school children died in a quake in the south of the country (AP)

The body of a victim lies on the street surrounded by collapsed buildings. According to The US Geological Survey the earthquake measured 6.3 on the Richter scale while Italian officials recorded 5.8 (AFP)

Rescue workers carry an injured woman away from the wreckage of her house. The quake struck in the Abruzzo region of the Apennines at about 3.30 a.m., sending shock waves that were felt as far as Rome nearly 100 km away (Reuters)

Rescuer attends to injured man who was recovered from a collapsed building in central L'Aquila, some 70 miles from Rome. (Newscom/Sipa)

Aerial view of the destruction in the city of L'Aquila, central Italy, Monday. (AP Photo/Guardia Forestale, HO)

The cathedral, or Duomo, after the earthquake (AFP/Getty)

One of the many historic buildings affected by the quake. ('Palazzo del Governo' translates to 'City Hall.') L'Aquila was built as a mountain stronghold during the Middle Ages.
(Photo courtesy of European-Mediterranean Seismological CentreEuropean-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)

Day two in the aftermath of the quake: a coroner carries the body of a child to the coffin where his mother lies in Onna, one of the towns hardest-hit by the earthquake (Reuters)

Italian firefighters survey the scene of destruction infront of them. Monday’s earthquake was the most devastating since 1980, when more than 2,700 people were killed in the town of Eboli, south of Naples (AP)

A view of a damaged house in the village of Castelnuovo, central Italy, following a strong earthquake, Monday, April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake in mountainous central Italy knocked down whole blocks of buildings early Monday as residents slept, killing more than 70 people in the country's deadliest quake in nearly three decades, officials said. Tens of thousands were homeless and 1,500 were injured. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Two police officers walk by debris in L'Aquila, central Italy, following a strong earthquake, Monday, April 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Cars are covered with debris and rubble in the village of Onna, central Italy, a quake-prone region that has had at least nine smaller jolts since the beginning of April. (AP Photo/Sandro Perozzi)

A firefighter walks by debris following a strong earthquake, in the village of Onna. (AP Photo/Sandro Perozzi)

A man is carried away by rescuers after a four-storey building collapsed following a earthquake in L'Aquila. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude of the quake was 6.3, though Italy's National Institute of Geophysics put it at 5.8. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Cars are covered with debris and rubble following a strong earthquake, in the village of Onna. (AP Photo/Sandro Perozzi)

Bianca, a dog whose owners are missing, wanders past the rubble of collapsed buildings, in the village of Castelnuovo. (AP photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Rescue workers search for trapped people after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy. (Getty Images Photo / April 6, 2009)

Rescuers with a sniffer dog search for survivors among the rubble of collapsed buildings in the village of Castelnuovo in central Italy yesterday. (Alessandra Tarantino/Associated Press)

A Red Cross rescue worker comforts a child in a refugee camp set up just outside the Abruzzo capital L’Aquila. The makeshift tents provided little comfort against the chilly mountain air (AFP)

All the photos and text are a selection from various articles published on the net.