UPDATE - Deadly Italian earthquake kills 38

UPDATES DEATH TOLL, ADDS POPE’S, EU COMMISSIONER’S COMMENTS

ANKARA (AA) - At least 38 people are reported dead after an earthquake struck central Italy on Wednesday morning, local media reports.

Italian news agency ANSA said: "Ten died in the Marche villages of Arquata and Pescara del Tronto and 28 lives were lost in the Lazio villages of Accumuli and Amatrice."

The agency said many people were trapped under rubble in Accumuli, Amatrice and Pescara del Tronto following the earthquake which struck at 3.36 a.m. local time (1:36 GMT) and was followed by aftershocks.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers [six miles] southeast of Norcia -- a town and commune in Perugia, central Italy.

The organization said that the earthquake occurred as the result of shallow normal faulting on a NW-SE oriented fault in the Central Apennines.

Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, said in a statement: “The EU is ready to help."

“At the moment, the Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre is closely monitoring the situation and has already been in contact with the Italian civil protection authorities during the night regarding any help which could be requested,” he added.

In comments reported by ANSA, Pope Francis, speaking in the Vatican’s St. Peter's Square before 11,000 faithful, said he felt “great pain” over the deaths, adding that he was with all those “who have lost loved ones and those who still feel shaken by fear”.

The Central Apennine region has experienced several significant quakes in recorded history, including the April 2009 6.3-magnitude earthquake which struck near the town of L’Aquila, killing at least 295 people, injuring over 1,000 and leaving around 55,000 homeless.