• At least 73 people have been killed in an earthquake in a mountainous area of central Italy.
• The magnitude 6.2 quake struck at 03:36 (01:36 GMT), 100km (65 miles) north-east of Rome, not far from Perugia, at a depth of 10km (six miles).
• Many of the dead were in Accumoli, close to the epicentre, and a short distance away in Amatrice.
• Many people are still believed buried under the rubble, and the death toll is expected to rise.
• The quake was felt from Bologna in the north of Italy to Naples in the south. 
• Some 80 aftershocks have been reported since. 

That concludes our live coverage of the earthquake in Italy for now. 

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Radio 4 PM programme

Tommaso della Longa, from the International Red Cross, is in Amatrice, one of the worst affected towns, and said it was "like an apocalypse". Mr della Longa told Carolyn Quinn that the Red Cross would be providing psychological assistance for people affected by the earthquake, as well as food and shelter, because "scenes like these are really hard to forget".  

The BBC World Service programme  World Have Your Say is talking to people in Umbria about the devastation the earthquake has caused. Live now until 6pm.

Two tent camps will be set up in Pescara and Arquata del Tronto, says the head of civil protection in the region of Le Marche, Cesare Spuri, who is co-ordinating relief efforts in the area.

One will have 30 tents, the other will have 15-20, the news agency Ansa reports.

Others who have lost their homes will be accommodated in fixed structures such as gymnasiums. 

Hot meals are being distributed to the displaced, while rescue work in the rubble continues into the evening, Ansa says.

Germany is ready to provide any aid needed by Italy, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said at a news conference in Estonia.

"The pictures we are seeing are awful. We will be ready to do everything we can to help Italy if needed, and our thoughts are with the people of the region today," Mrs Merkel said.

Image source, AFP

The plight of an 80-year-old woman trapped in the rubble is highlighted by the AP news agency. Rescuers had to persuade her to urinate where she was rather than wait until she got home as they were not in a position to get her out quickly enough. A ranger is quoted as telling her: "Listen, I know it's not nice to say but if you need to pee you just do it.'' 

The woman was later taken to the Ascoli Piceno hospital. Her 47-year-old daughter, who lived with her, was killed, the agency reports.

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

James Reynolds spoke to a nun called Marianna in Amatrice, one of the towns worst affected by the earthquake. Marianna explained how she hid under a table during the earthquake and told him there were seven women from the convent still under the rubble; three nuns and four other women. She said the rescue operation didn't have the right equipment to lift the rubble.   

A six-man team from the Vatican City State's fire squad has been sent to quake-hit Amatrice, a Vatican statement says. Its deployment reflects "the Pope's concrete proximity to the people affected by the quake", the statement says.

Seventy-three people are now known to have died in the quake, according to Italy's civil protection unit.

There has been an appeal on social media, saying for each spaghetti all'amatriciana eaten in selected restaurants, €2 (£1.70; $2.25) will go to Amatrice - one from the diner, one from the restaurant. The initiative has been supported by many restaurateurs.

The play on the word Amatriciana picks out "Ama" which means love in Italian.

It says "let's help the population of Amatrice and the area affected by the quake".

Spaghetti all'amatriciana would have been served at the annual festival that was to have taken place on Saturday and Sunday.

Amatrice was to have held its 50th annual spaghetti festival on Saturday and Sunday. The town is known for its culinary excellence and has a spaghetti - all'amatriciana - named after it. 

Image source, Twitter

The Italian news agency Ansa says the death toll has increased to at least 60.