Several people in northern Italy were killed by an earthquake on Tuesday, civil protection officials told CNN, saying they did not yet have a confirmed number of dead.


Italian news agency ANSA said at least three people had been killed.

The earthquake came nine days after a quake in the same region killed seven people.

Tuesday's earthquake was centered in the province of Modena, near Bologna. The towns of Mirandola and Cavezzo were closest to the epicenter, civil protection authorities said.

"Some buildings which were damaged already in last week's earthquake were affected again today. San Felice sul Panaro and Mirandola registered most of the damage," a spokewoman said.

Some train services have been suspended for safety reasons, and high speed trains from Bologna to Milan and Florence, among others, are running at slower speeds, train operators said. There are no trains stuck on tracks, Trenitalia said.

There have been at least three aftershocks since the Tuesday morning earthquake, the Italian geological service said.

Northern Italy is the heartland of the country's manufacturing industry.

Madonna thinks she would do a great job as President of the United States because she would stop the country splashing cash on "weapons of mass destruction".