Italy holds state funeral for victims of earthquake

Mourners gathered in the Italian town of Ascoli Piceno for a state funeral for some of the victims of a powerful earthquake that hit central Italy on Wednesday. The service in a gymnasium is also shown on big screens at a church next door for locals. Italy declared Saturday (August 27) a day of mourning to honour the victims. Among those grieving were Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Matteo Renzy and other political leaders. The crowd at the first mass funeral for #terremoto victims is full of uniforms, politicians from Rome. SBSNews pic.twitter.com/9Hwk9RvARR— Nastasya Tay (NastasyaTay) August 27, 2016 Mattarella flew to Amatrice by helicopter on Saturday to see the damage first hand before travelling on later in the morning to the nearby city of Ascoli Piceno for the funeral of up to 40 of the victims. More than a thousand aftershocks continued to rattle the area bringing fresh damage. Flags across Italy flew at half-mast as the death toll passed 290. Although rescuers continued to search mounds of rubble, there was little hope of finding survivors. I ask the priest how he understands this act of God. “As a human,” he says, “I have no answer.” #terremoto SBSNews— Nastasya Tay (NastasyaTay) August 27, 2016