Italy quake death toll hits 268

***state funeral planned

Hopes of finding more survivors from Italy’s devastating earthquake faded on Friday, with the death toll rising to 268, News Agency Nigeria (NAN) reports.
It said that the rescue operation in some of the stricken areas had been called off.

Three days after the quake struck, sniffer dogs and emergency crews continued to scout the town of Amatrice, which was leveled in the disaster, but there was no sign of life beneath the debris.

“Only a miracle can bring our friends back alive from the rubble, but we are still digging because many are missing,” town Mayor, Sergio Pirozzi, told reporters.

He said that 15 people, including some children, had not been accounted for.
The report said that in nearby villages, such as Pescara del Tronto, rescuers pulled out after all the inhabitants had been accounted for.

Italy plans to hold a state funeral for no fewer than 40 of the victims on Saturday, which will be held in the nearby city of Ascoli Piceno.

A day of national mourning was announced, with flags due to fly at half mast around the country for the dead, who included a number of foreigners.

The civil protection department in Rome said that nearly 400 people were being treated for injuries in hospitals, and 40 of them were in critical condition.

An estimated 2,500 people were left homeless by the most deadly quake in Italy since 2009.