Italy quake toll rises to 267
A picture taken on August 26, 2016 shows a stretcher on the ground by the rubbles of earthquake destroyed buildings in a delimited area in the central Italian village of Amatrice, two days after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck the region killing some 267 people.
The first funerals for victims of the devastating earthquake that hit central Italy this week were held on August 26, 2016 as the country prepared for an emotionally charged day of mourning. Flags will fly at half-mast across the country on August 27, 2016 in respect for the victims of a disaster that claimed at least 278 lives, according to an updated official toll. The Civil Protection agency’s emergency unit said no new survivors had been found Friday in the remote mountain villages blitzed by Wednesday’s powerful pre-dawn quake. At least 388 people have been hospitalised with injuries. No one has been pulled alive from the piles of collapsed masonry since Wednesday evening. AFP
ROME, Italy – The death toll from a powerful earthquake in central Italy rose to 267 Friday with 367 people hospitalised with injuries, the Civil Protection agency said.
Immacolata Postiglione, head of the agency’s emergency unit, indicated there had been no survivors found overnight as rescuers sifted through rubble for a third day.
The government has declared a state of emergency for the regions affected by Wednesday’s quake with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi releasing an initial tranche of 50 million euros ($56 million) for emergency aid.
Renzi also announced a new earthquake prevention plan as questions mounted over why so many people had died just seven years after the nearby city of L’Aquila was devastated by a quake that killed 300 people.
