A rugby player from Bristol has told how he helped to evacuate victims of the earthquake in Italy which has left 179 people dead, including one of his team-mates.

Ollie Hodge from Keynsham, Bristol, says he ran in panic out of his apartment in the medieval city of L’Aquila when the earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck at 3.32am yesterday.

When the scale of the disaster became clear, Mr Hodge and some rugby players from the L’Aquila club where he plays helped with the rescue operation by carrying patients and beds out of the city's hospital which had been rendered unsafe by the tremors.

“Myself and a few of the boys from the club went out to the hospital to help because the buildings were unstable and they had to evacuate everyone," said Mr Hodge, a powerfully-built second-row forward.

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I found a scene of devastation - a jewel of medieval Italy has collapsed

Richard Owen in L'Aquila

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• Earthquake between Rome and Aquila

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“We were carrying beds down the stairs and carrying people out of there. You just do what you can in a situation like that."

The players were devastated to learn later of the death of Lorenzo Sebastiani, a team-mate from the Serie A club.

“What has happened has not really hit me yet but I can tell you I am devastated about Lorenzo. He was a lovely lad and a real up-and-coming young talent.”

The 29-year-old player described the terrifying and unreal scenes in L'Aquila city centre. "It’s like a war-zone down there, absolutely horrendous," he told the Bath Chronicle. “It’s like something from a film. Cars are crushed, and down where we would normally go for a walk and a coffee, the buildings have all crumbled.

“We wanted to go into the centre to help, but were told to leave it to the experts and get out of there because they don’t know whether any more tremors are coming or not.

“I don’t know how lucky I am, and thank God I am fine. I was absolutely terrified when I was woken up by the earthquake and I just ran out of my apartment. I really didn’t know what was going on at first. It’s tragic.”

Mr Hodge was able to return to his apartment to collect his passport but has been told that the building is no longer safe to stay in and he is already planning to return to his parents’ home in Keynsham.

Mr Hodge, who began his career at Bath, joined L’Aquila from Coventry last summer and has also played for Exeter Chiefs and Cornish Pirates.

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