Central Italy Earthquake Reduces Towns To Rubble As Death Toll Rises

Published August 24, 2016 at 12:06 PM EDT

Rescue workers retrieve a dead body in a damaged building on Aug. 24, 2016 in Accumoli, Italy. (Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi says the death toll from the quake that hit central Italy has risen.

Renzi spoke Wednesday evening in the provincial capital of Rieti after visiting rescue crews and survivors in the hard-hit town of Amatrice and flying over other demolished towns in nearby Le Marche region.

#Terremoto tra #Lazio, #Umbria e #Marche. #Diretta streaming su Rainews.it con @AntDiBella https://t.co/1eR2n1cqne pic.twitter.com/VwEsnYXIuz

— Rainews (@RaiNews) August 24, 2016

Renzi said 34 people died in Le Marche, the rest from the other towns. He also says the identification of quake bodies was a difficult process.

Here & Now‘s Meghna Chakrabarti gets the latest from Philip Pullella, a senior correspondent for Reuters in Rome.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this article.

Guest

Philip Pullella, senior correspondent covering Italy and the Vatican for Reuters. He tweets @PhilipPullella.