Italy earthquake: Child, 10, rescued after 17-hour ordeal

Emergency personnel continue to search for survivors after the phenomenon - with a magnitude of between 6.0 and 6.2 - hit central Italy. 

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that shook central Italy has risen to 247. 

Hundreds of others have been injured while a number of residents are unaccounted as they remain trapped under the ruins of collapsed buildings. 

The village of Amatrice was one of the worst affected while towns such Umbria, Marche and Lazio were also hit. Many of the victims were from Rome.

In the video below, rescuers work desperately to free the child stuck under a collapsed building in one of the worst affected districts in the central town of Pescara del Tronto.

With the fear of aftershocks making it too risky for Italians to return home, hundreds of people have spent a cold night in tents on a temporary camp site. Authorities are looking to find emergency accommodation for more than 2000 people.

It was Italy's most powerful earthquake since the 2009 disaster in L'Aquila.

'Italy vulnerable to quakes' 

The first quake measured 6.2, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

It measured 6.0 according to Italian monitors, who put the depth at only four kilometres. A 5.4-magnitude aftershock followed an hour later.

Italy is vulnerable to earthquakes and the 2009 tremor in L'Aquila led to lengthy recriminations over lax building controls and the failure of authorities to warn residents that a quake could be imminent.