Italy earthquake: 'At least three Britons killed' by 6.2 magnitude quake, say Italian officials

At least three Britons have been killed by the magnitude 6.2 earthquake that hit central Italy, according to Italian officials.

The news follows a statement from Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson saying extra staff had been sent to the region to support Britons affected by the “terrible” quake.

An official in Amatrice told the BBC at least three British citizens were among the people killed in the town, which was one of the worst affected areas following the quake on Wednesday morning.

The Foreign Office have not confirmed the deaths and would not give any information as to whether any British nationals had been injured, as the death toll from the disaster continues to rise to at least 250 people.

Two of the Britons killed are understood to own an apartment in Sommati, just over a mile away from Amatrice, according to Sky News.

The third is understood to be a teenage boy of another family staying with the owners.

Searches for survivors have continued into a second day, as rescuers hunt through the rubble of destroyed historic villages, some of which have been practically wiped out.

The UK Government will offer “any assistance that we can” to Italian authorities, Mr Johnson said on Thursday.

“My deepest sympathies are with the Italian people and everyone affected by the terrible earthquake that struck central Italy.

"The British Government has offered any assistance that we can to help with the recovery effort and I have spoken with Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni to express my condolences personally.

"As the scale of the disaster has become clearer we now know that a number of British nationals have been affected.

"British Embassy staff are in the region providing consular support, and we have deployed additional staff to support this effort."

The vast majority of the damage from Wednesday’s quake appears to have been in the town of Amatrice, which continued to crumble on Thursday as a 4.3 magnitude aftershock hit the already-devastated settlement.

The town’s mayor, Sergio Pirozzi, said up to 200 of the dead were Amatrice residents or visitors who had come to the area in anticipation of the 50th annual festival celebrating “spaghetti all’Amatriciana”, which was due to take place this weekend.

That tally suggests as many as one in 10 of the town’s 2,000 people have died.

Firefighters and rescue crews using sniffer dogs have been working in teams around the hardest-hit areas of the country.

"We will work relentlessly until the last person is found, and make sure no one is trapped," said Lorenzo Botti, a rescue team spokesman.

Additional reporting by Press Association