Aftershock Rumbles Italy as Death Toll Hits 200

At least 207 people have been killed by the earthquake in central Italy, with 100 residents critically injured, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said.

He said 150 people had been rescued alive so far, and the operation would continue for a further 48 hours and involve 7,000 rescuers.

"The hopes of finding anyone under the rubble now is very small," said a civil protection agency official at a camp set up outside L'Aquila, the historic mountain city shattered by the quake.

Rescuers worked overnight inside the four-story dormitory and pulled two bodies from the rubble. They ran out, appearing confused, when the 4.9-magnitude aftershock hit at 11:26 a.m.

There have been a series of aftershocks since the 6.3 quake early Monday killed at least 179 people, injured more than 1,500 and left tens of thousands homeless. Tuesday's aftershock appeared strongest in L'Aquila, a city of Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architectural treasures in a valley surrounded by the snowcapped Apennine mountains.

Weeks before the disaster, an Italian scientist had predicted a major quake around L'Aquila, based on concentrations of radon gas found around seismically active areas.

Seismologist Gioacchino Giuliani, who lives in L'Aquila, was reported to police for "spreading alarm" and was forced to remove his findings from the Internet.

Civil Protection assured locals at the end of March that tremors being felt were "absolutely normal" for a seismic area.