Bahram Qassemi on Wednesday evening offered Iran’s condolences to the Italian government and nation and families of the victims.

He also wished the injured a swift recovery.

The strong earthquake struck a mountainous stretch of central Italy early Wednesday, killing at least 247 people and trapping scores under debris.

The tremor, which had a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, struck at 3:36 a.m., about 6.5 miles southeast of the town of Norcia in the Umbria region, followed by about 200 aftershocks over the next several hours.

Towns in three regions -Umbria, Lazio and Marche- have been devastated by the quake.