Italians share stories of escape from terrifying 6.2 magnitude earthquake

THE Italian quake has ripped the facade clean off homes, exposing an eerie scene with phones ringing and pets heard inside.

Daylight has let the true extent of the devastation known across Italy. Picture: AP Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP.

HARROWING stories of escape and survival have emerged from Italy in the wake of the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck the Umbria region in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Italians have taken to social media under the hashtags #terremeto and #prayforItaly to share their stories from the dramatic shock that devastated hillside towns while residents and holiday-makers were asleep.

More than 2000 poeple have been made instantly homeless by the quake that shook buildings to the ground within seconds and in some cases tore entire walls right off.

Inside, intimate scenes of family life sat untouched while in some properties phones could be heard ringing off the hook as people called for updates of their loved ones.

Italian newsagency Rieti Life wrote of horrific scenes when paramedics tried to pull a six-year-old girl from the rubble of a destroyed home where she was trapped with her twin and four other people. Despite CPR being administered the uncles were heard to cry “[she] is dead]”, the organisation reports.

Meanwhile a dramatic video has surfaced of a rescue worker speaking to a woman who is trapped under piles of rubble. He can be heard telling her to breath in the video where only her arm is visible.

The quake ripped the facade off homes in seconds and in some properties phones could be heard ringing as loved ones called desparate for updates. Picture: AFP PHOTO / MARCO ZEPPETELLA

A house is devastated while a living room inside is revealed to the street. Picture: AFP PHOTO / MARCO ZEPPETELLA

Illica local Guido Bordo said his sister and her husband were trapped under the rubble as he waited for diggers to help get them out.

“There’s no sound from them, we only heard their cats. I wasn’t here, but as soon as the quake happened I rushed here,” he told AFP.

“They managed to pull my sister’s children out, they’re in hospital now,” he said.

BBC Journalist James Reynolds said many patients were being treated outside the hospital in Amtrice and many locals were dazed by the event with one man walking the streets in his underwear carrying a suitcase.

Photograher Emiliano Grilloti said he saw 15 people digging with their bare hands to save a family of four.

“I can hear one of the children screaming,” he told Mail Online.

Witness Valerio told Repubblica she “fled from the house naked” after the old houses and main streets collapsed before returning with a tractor to clear the streets.

The Deputy Editor of England’s The Times was in Le Marche on holiday and was forced to evacuate her property after the quake.

“Plaster everywhere. Power down,” she wrote on Twitter, saying they went to the garden to shelter in the “pretty terrifying” event.

Victims of the quake sit in a huddle as authorities scramble to reach the 69 hamelts affected. Picture: AFP/FILIPPO MONTEFORTE

An image of a nun checking her mobile has become one of the defining images of the Italian quake. Picture: Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP.

A man sits among the rubble of his devastated home. Picture: AFP/ FILIPPO MONTEFORTE

Another man by the name of Mark trapped in Amatrice said “10 seconds were enough to destroy everything.”

“I’m saved by a miracle and because I had just woke up to go to work ... I had just got out of bed the moment that everything collapsed.”

European leaders have offered assistance as rescue workers scramble to pull victims from the rubble of the devastating quake that is the worst the country has seen since 2009.

Follow the latest news on the recovery efforts here.

This aerial photo shows the magnitude of the damaged buildings in the town of Amatrice. Picture: AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia.

Entire villages have been devastated by the quake which happened in a matter of seconds. Picture: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino