AN EARTHQUAKE has hit central Italy leaving dozens dead and more than 100 people missing.

The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.2, hit shortly after 3.3am local time today (Wednesday).

According to a report by the BBC, at least 37 people are dead and 150 are missing, while rescuers continue to look for people trapped under the rubble.

The hardest-hit towns were reported as Amatrice, Accumoli and Norcia.

The quake's epicentre was in Norcia, Umbria, 65 miles north-east of Rome, and British tourists on holiday in the capital reported feeling tremors.

Sarah Conrad, who works for YouTube in London and is visiting the Italian capital, said she was woken up in the early hours and also felt aftershocks.

She tweeted: "Pretty sure I was just woken up by an #earthquake in #rome.

"I thought someone snuck into my hotel room & was jumping on the bed. Both scary!"

Paul O' Halloran, whose Twitter profile said he was in Rome said: "Just got woke up by an earthquake! Bed and window shutters moving!"

Toby Shaw, from Hampshire, tweeted: "I'm really hoping that I've just experienced an #earthquake in #Rome, otherwise I'm not sure I want to know what it was that shook the room."

Ryan Sloan, a lawyer based in Glasgow, described the moment the earthquake woke him in Rome as the "most terrifying moment" of his life.

He said: "Woke up as felt like someone violently rocking bed."

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