Magnitude 3.9 tremor jolts central Italy

Rome, June 9 (IANS/AKI) A magnitude 3.9 earthquake shook Italy's central Aquila province on Friday at 2.15 pm local time, Italy's national geophysics and vulcanology institute said.

The moderate tremor was registered at a depth of 13 kilometres and the closest towns to its epicentre were Pizzoli, Barete and Capitignano, the institute said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage to buildings.

Five strong earthquakes have hit central Italy's mountainous spine since last August, killing 300 people, leaving several thousand homeless and causing more than 23 billion euros of damage to homes and other buildings including medieval churches as well as to agriculture.

The region has been rocked by thousands of aftershocks over the past nine months, fraying the nerves of residents.

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