Three brothers, including a seven-month-old baby, were pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed building on the Italian holiday island of Ischia after it was hit by an earthquake that killed two people and injured 40.

Firefighters, who at times had to dig away at the rubble with their bare hands, described the survival of the baby boy as “a miracle”.

The infant, Pasquale Marmolo, was rescued by firemen at around 4am local time on Tuesday after spending more than 10 hours trapped beneath the wreckage of the smashed building.

Still wearing a nappy and a little cotton sleep suit, he cried but seemed otherwise unscathed as he was pulled to safety.

“0400, Ischia, a miracle – baby pulled alive from the rubble,” the Italian fire service announced in a tweet.