Strong earthquake rocks Sicily

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks have rocked Sicily, injuring three people and damaging some buildings in Palermo.

Two elderly people died of heart attacks as an indirect result of the quake.

Mario Cerrone, an engineer with the Palermo department of civil protection, says there were no deaths as a direct result.

The quake had its epicentre about 25 miles northeast of Palermo, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Mr Cerrone says.

The USGS National Earthquake Centre in Golden, Colorado put the preliminary magnitude at 6.1, but the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology in Rome put it at 5.6.

It lasted about 20 to 30 seconds, and was followed by two large aftershocks and several smaller ones.

One of the largest aftershocks was registered five hours after the initial one struck.

Cerrone says some buildings in Palermo's historic centre suffered some damage, with parts of the masonry falling off.

Three buildings with some of the heaviest damage were evacuated as a precaution.