Italy earthquake death toll rises to 25

A woman holds a helmet that she found in front of a damaged building in Cavezzo near Modena May 30, 2012.

ROME (Reuters) - The number of people killed in two earthquakes that struck northern Italy in May rose to 25 on Tuesday, as aftershocks continued to spread fear among residents in the area.

The latest victim was a woman admitted to hospital after being injured in the second of two deadly tremors to strike the area in just over a week, health authorities in Bologna said.

A man, also seriously injured by the second tremor, remains in hospital and his life is in danger, the authorities said.

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake on May 20 was followed by a similar-size quake nine days later, destroying businesses and making thousands homeless.

The quake was the most deadly to strike Italy since 2009 when a tremor partially destroyed the central city of L'Aquila killing about 300 people.

The epicenter of the latest quake lies to the north of the city of Modena in what is one of the most productive regions of Italy.

Damages have been estimated at around 5 billion euros but could be higher as tremors continue to shake buildings in the area, preventing any resumption of reconstruction work.

(Reporting By Antonella Cinelli; Writing by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Jon Hemming)