A Maltese canine search and rescue team has joined efforts to recover survivors of the powerful earthquake that struck central Italy early this morning.

The five-man team from SOS Malta, accompanied by two specially-trained dogs, left Malta this afternoon for Sicily, from where they will make their way up to the affected regions by Thursday morning.

“Once on the ground, we will be allocated an area where people are thought to be injured and begin our search,” mission leader John Gera told the Times of Malta.

“There are still many people lost under the rubble. Our hope is to be successful in finding even one person alive.”

A powerful earthquake devastated a string of mountain towns in central Italy on Wednesday, trapping residents under rubble, killing at least 73 people and leaving thousands homeless.

The quake struck in the early hours of the morning when most residents were asleep, razing homes and buckling roads in a cluster of communities some 140 km (85 miles) east of Rome.

It was powerful enough to be felt in Bologna to the north and Naples to the south, each more than 220 km from the epicentre.