Strong aftershock rattles quake-hit Italy

A new aftershock rattled central Italy and could be felt as far as Rome, one week after a strong earthquake killed nearly 300 people.

A new aftershock rattled central Italy and could be felt as far as Rome, one week after a strong earthquake killed nearly 300 people.

HT Image

News channel Rainews 24 reported that the aftershock late yesterday, one of the strongest since the April 6 earthquake, measured 4.8 on the Richter scale. It hit just before 0300 IST.

The head of Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology reported earlier yesterday that 10,000 aftershocks have hit the region since the earthquake and around 1,000 could be felt.

"We do not exclude slightly stronger aftershocks, it's even probable" that there will be tremors above 3.0 on the Richter scale, the top scientist, Enzo Boschi, told ANSA news agency.

The quake -- which killed 294 people, destroyed large parts of the Abruzzo region and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes -- measured 5.