Rescuers hunt for Italy quake survivors

By Deepa Babington

L'AQUILA, Italy (Reuters) - Rescuers searched through the night for survivors of an earthquake that killed more than 130 people in central Italy early on Monday and left thousands of homeless huddled in tent camps and rough shelters.

Rain complicated the task of firemen and emergency workers combing the rubble in the hope of plucking people alive from collapsed houses in the medieval mountain city of L'Aquila and nearby villages, some almost entirely destroyed.

The quake struck shortly after 3.30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. British time) on Monday, catching residents in their sleep and flattening houses, ancient churches and other buildings in 26 cities and towns.

Aftershocks rattled the area, some 100 km east (60 miles) of Rome in the Abruzzo region, throughout the day.

Local authorities said more than 130 people were confirmed dead and more than 1,500 injured. The civil protection agency put the number of homeless at up to 50,000.

Hospital sources told ANSA news agency more than 150 people had died, while the website of the daily Corriere della Sera said 250 people were still missing, raising fears that the death toll could rise substantially.

"It's been such a hard and long day. Now that we are sitting here in our car it's all beginning to sink in," said L'Aquila resident Piera Colucci as she prepared to sleep in her vehicle.

Rescue workers using powerful floodlights and bulldozers said they would keep searching for survivors through the night. After digging in the rubble all day, a fireman recounted how he had pulled a boy alive from the mangled remains of his house.