ROME, Oct 31: At least six people, four of them children, died on Thursday in an earthquake that hit the village of San Giuliano di Puglia in southern Italy, with the toll expected to rise as more bodies are found under the rubble of a school, a local official said.

“The death toll in San Giuliano di Puglia is six for the moment — four children and two women — but it will rise,” said Piero Ucci, an official in Campobasso province. At least 60 children and teachers were in the village school when the quake struck.

Around 20 children and one teacher have been brought out alive from the rubble by rescue workers.

The quake also hit surrounding villages, causing an number of injuries, Ucci said.—AFP