A Maltese nun living in the earthquake-hit Italian city of L'Aquila has lost her house as attempts were being made yesterday to contact other Maltese people who reside in the area.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said contact had been made with the unnamed nun who said she was not injured. The government was last night trying to bring her back to Malta.

The whole block of buildings where the nun lived, including a bank, was flattened. Another Maltese woman also lived in the block, together with her Italian husband and three children.

A ministry spokesman said attempts to contact the family had not been successful but neighbours reported seeing them flee before the house collapsed.

Some of the other Maltese living in the area, thought to number five families, have been traced and confirmed they were safe, a spokesman for the ministry said.

However, the ministry's attempts have been made more difficult because the office of Malta's consul in the region, Luigi Lombardo, has been demolished and he was unable to access their contact information. Telephone lines were down.

The earthquake, which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, was recorded at Wied Dalam's seismic station. However, seismologist Pauline Galea, of the University of Malta's Physics Department, said it was unlikely the earthquake was felt by people in Malta.

A Maltese woman living in Chieti, a city about an hour's drive from L'Aquila, said she was woken up by the quake although some people slept right through it.

The mother of three, who moved to Italy six years ago, said some people left their houses out of fear the walls would crumble during aftershocks.

"It is very sad to see such devastation so close to home," she said, adding that she had contacted a number of friends living nearby who were also safe.

The woman, an English teacher from Guardamangia who preferred not to be named, said it was fortunate that a good number of students from the area who went to university in L'Aquila had gone home for the Easter holidays. Schools in the Abruzzo region have been closed until after Easter.

Another Maltese woman living in Chieti was also confirmed safe, the ministry spokesman said.

In a statement the ministry said the Maltese embassy in Rome was trying to find out whether any other Maltese were affected by the quake.

Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg, who is currently in Istanbul, wrote to his Italian counterpart Franco Frattino to express the solidarity of the Maltese.

Anyone who may know of any Maltese living in the area should contact the ministry on 2124 2191.