YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, ARMENPRESS. The number of the victims in Italy caused by an earthquake has amounted to 73, “Armenpress” reports, citing Interfax, Civil Protection Department told the Italian TV channel. 100 others have received injuries of various degrees.

A strong earthquake brought down buildings in mountainous central Italy early on Wednesday, trapping residents and sending others fleeing into the streets.

The quake that occurred at 03:36 by the Italian time caused serious damage to a number of towns and villages, but did not seem to have hit heavily populated areas.

The worst affected towns were believed to be Accumoli, Amatrice, Posta and Arquata del Tronto.

The Italian earthquake institute (INGV) reported 60 aftershocks in the four hours following the initial quake, the strongest measuring 5.5 magnitudes. It measured the original quake at 6.0.

Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active countries in Europe.

The last major earthquake to hit the country struck the central city of L'Aquila in 2009, killing more than 300 people.

The most deadly since the start of the 20th century came in 1908, when an earthquake followed by a tsunami killed an estimated 80,000 people in the southern regions of Reggio Calabria and Sicily.