AMATRICE, Italy (AP) — Rescue crews are racing against time, looking for survivors from Wednesday’s pre-dawn earthquake that leveled three towns in central Italy.

The death toll is at 247, but a firefighters’ spokesman in the city of Amatrice says, “We’re still in a phase that allows us to hope we’ll find people alive.”

Searchers continue to go through piles of rock and sand that were once buildings.

Three towns were hard hit, including one where travelers had come for a pasta festival.

Crews have been using bulldozers and even their hands to go through debris.