Children killed in Italy earthquake

A strong earthquake rocked central and southern Italy today, killing at least five children and one adult after a kindergaten school's roof collapsed. Fifty children were trapped.

The quake registered 5.4 on the Richter scale, said Marco Ludovici, an official with the Civil Defense department in Rome. Its epicenter was in area around Campobasso, a city located about 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) northeast of Naples.

Part of the school in San Giuliano di Puglia, near Campobasso, collapsed during the earthquake, trapping the children, agencies said.

The ANSA news agency said schools were evacuated in at least three towns in the Abbruzzo region, as well as in the city of Isernia, about 25 kilometers (about 15 miles) away from Campobasso.

Scores of panicked residents fled their homes and went into the streets.

Cracks gaped in building walls, and chunks of plaster fell from ceilings, Italian news reports said. People in Campobasso reported a humming sound when the quake struck at 11:33 a.m. (1033 GMT).

Also Thursday, a 3.7 magnitude quake hit Mount Etna, the Sicilian volcano which began erupting Sunday. No damage was reported.

In 1980 an earthquake in the area of Naples killed 2,570 people and left 30,000 homeless in the southern Campania and Basilicata regions.