Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

At least 16 dead in new Italian quake

Updated at 11:04 am on 30 May 2012

At least 16 people are now reported to have died in an earthquake in northern Italy.

The magnitude 5.8 quake struck the Emilia region at 9.03am on Tuesday, 40km north of Bologna at a depth of 9.6km.

It was the same region where a quake measuring 6.0 killed seven people and destroyed many buildings on 20 May.

Several people are reported trapped under rubble after the latest quake.

Buildings damaged by the earlier incident have now collapsed in Mirandola, Finale Emilia, San Felice and Cavezzo.

There have been several aftershocks since, including a large one at about midday which was felt about 100km away.

The BBC reports the towns of Mirandola, Medolla and Cavezzo were closest to the epicentre but the northern cities of Milan and Bologna were shaken too.

A priest in the town of Rovereto di Novi is reported to have been killed by a falling beam when he went back into his church to save a Madonna statue.

The Italian government says the number of people made homeless has risen to 14,000.

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