Search for survivors continues in Italy

A 65-year-old woman has been rescued from the rubble of her home in Cavezzo - but it is feared many more people could still be trapped.

Thousands of people huddled out of doors after the region's second earthquake in less than two weeks as officials warned of more aftershocks.

Yesterday's quake, which injured 200 people, came just nine days after an another tremor claimed six lives and left 7,000 homeless.

Residents in cities including Turin and Venice rushed into the streets in panic when a quake struck 60 kilometres (40 miles) east of Parma.

Just a few hours later, the region was struck by three more quakes of between 5.1 and over 5.3 magnitude. As night fell one person was reported missing.

The search for survivors in the small town of Medolla was launched after muffled cries for help were heard from beneath the debris of damaged buildings, SKY TG24 television said.

Workers at a precision mechanics factory near Modena where three people were killed, told how they ran for their lives as the ground shook beneath them, tearing the building apart and sending masonry crashing to the ground.

"Everything happened so fast, in about seven to eight seconds. I don't even remember. I ran out carrying the piece I was working on and I saw everything crumble," said one worker who gave his name as Daniel.

As the dust began to settle after the quake those who had made it to safety realised three people, an Italian, an Indian and a Moroccan, had been crushed to death by the falling masonry.

"I'm grief-stricken, speechless. I have no tears left to shed," Daniel added, explaining that he had worked with the dead men at the Meta factory in San Felice sul Panaro for years.

One of the victims had been living in a tent at a camp since the 6.0-magnitude quake on May 20 , which destroyed many homes and historic buildings.

"Everything's collapsed, it's chaos, buildings across the town are down," a fireman in the tiny town of Cavezzo told Corriere della Sera newspaper earlier.

Authorities in the Emilia Romagna region said over 5,000 people had been evacuated from their homes and emergency places arranged for 4,000 homeless.

Among the quake victims was a parish priest in the town of Rovereto di Novi who was killed by a falling beam, reportedly after he went back into his church to save a Madonna statue.

"A new quake has hit the Emilia Romagna region, leaving victims, wounded people and damaged buildings in its wake," Prime Minister Mario Monti said in a televised address from Rome.

Pope Benedict XVI sent his condolences to the families of the victims of Tuesday's quake, which was felt throughout northern and central Italy.

The region has been hit by a series of quakes and aftershocks over the past two weeks. Authorities have registered at least 800 tremors since May 20.

The latest disasters came just over three years after a 6.3-magnitude quake devastated the city of L'Aquila in central Italy, killing some 300 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.