A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck central Italy in the early hours of Thursday in the same region hit by recent strong quakes last week, the US Geological Survey said.

It said the temblor was very shallow, only 6.2 miles (10 km) deep, and was centered 32 miles (51.5 km) southeast of Perugia.

The National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV) places the the earthquake's epicentre in Pieve Torina (Macerata) at a depth of 8km, and rates the magnitude as 4.8.