The death toll from a powerful earthquake in central Italy rose to 247 on Thursday amid fears many more corpses remain buried in the rubble of devastated mountain villages. As rescuers sifted through collapsed masonry in the search for survivors, questions mounted as to why there had been so many deaths so soon after the 2009 L'Aquila disaster, exposing Italy's vulnerability to earthquakes. "In Amatrice alone we are already over 200 deaths," said Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of one of the worst-affected villages, suggesting the total number of victims could rise significantly.