'Children are screaming in the rubble...' devastating earthquake...

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has devastated central Italy - leaving around 40 people dead. Two children are among those who died this morning, while it is believed that more children are trapped underneath the rubble.

The epicentre occurred around 170km north-east of Rome, with the towns of Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto being hardest hit.

#Malagò, presidente #Coni "Un minuto di silenzio dello sport per le vittime" https://t.co/54hgBzVKq8 pic.twitter.com/GwGXwtLAUq
— la Repubblica (@repubblicait) August 24, 2016

Rescuers are working around the clock to locate survivors amid the ruins; they are reporting that they can still hear voices below the debris.

Photographer Emiliano Grillotti told La Repubblica that in Accumoli he saw more than 15 people digging with their bare hands to save a family of four with two children. He relayed: "I can hear one of the children screaming."

Pray for victims of #ItalyEarthquake we are with you in these difficult moments. pic.twitter.com/fRQPHsuKnF
— AAP Italy (@ItalyAAP) August 24, 2016

The official death-toll now stands at 38 - but officials in Italy say that this number will probably rise.

Pescara del Tronto, il vigile del fuoco: 'Così abbiamo salvato nonna e bambini'
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Rescuers furthermore described to La Repubblica how they helped a grandmother and her grandchildren to safety. "The father had managed to get out," Danilo Ionisi said. "But a grandmother and grandchildren were trapped inside the house, which had completely collapsed.

"We dug a tunnel and we were able to recover before the kids. The grandmother, however, remained wedged between a bed and rubble. Thankfully, we were able to rescue her from above," he added.

Another image on social media shows sheets tied together to form a makeshift rope which allowed the occupants of a badly damaged home to escape to safety.

#terremoto fuggiti grazie alle lenzuola... pic.twitter.com/G3bvUSwSZK
— fabio tonacci (@fabiotonacci) August 24, 2016

Search and rescue teams and sniffer dogs from @crocerossa are responding to a 6.2 magnitude earthquake in Italy pic.twitter.com/5qBFJvzLPc
— British Red Cross (@BritishRedCross) August 24, 2016

Much of the town of Amatrice has been reduced to rubble, according to the BBC, which also reports that two boys, aged four and seven, were pulled alive from of a house; rescuers say they had been hiding under a bed.

#PopeFrancis leading 11,000 people in reciting sorrowful mysteries of rosary for victims of #ItalyEarthquake pic.twitter.com/v6fNjntgs6
— Catholic News Svc (@CatholicNewsSvc) August 24, 2016

"The roads in and out of town are cut off. Half the town is gone. There are people under the rubble. There’s been a landslide and a bridge might collapse,” Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of Amatrice, where five died, told state run broadcaster RAI.

“There are people under the rubble. The town isn’t here anymore.”

Our condolences for victims of #ItalyEarthquake
We're ready for humanitarian assistance as @RedCrescentTR pic.twitter.com/5yrXF2Frvd
— Dr Kerem Kınık (@drkerem) August 24, 2016

The US Geological Survey placed the epicentre at Norcia, which is about 170km north east of Rome.

This is not the first time an earthquake has struck central Italy; in 2009, a 6.3 magnitude quake occurred in the Aquila region – 300 people were killed.