Quake toll rises to 278, 15 missing in Amatrice

(ANSA) - Rome, August 26 - The Civil Protection Department said Friday the latest provisional death toll from Wednesday's earthquake in central Italy is 278.
    The quake killed 218 people in Amatrice alone, according to the new toll, while the toll in Arquata, 49, and Accumoli, 11, was unchanged.
    Civil Protection said 238 people have been pulled alive from the rubble, and more than 2,100 people have been displaced by the quake.
    Although Civil Protection said there are no longer any missing persons in the Marche region, at least 15 people are still missing in Amatrice, a Lazio town that was mostly levelled in the quake, Mayor Sergio Pirozzi said Friday.
    Amatrice was hit by a 4.8-magnitude tremblor early Friday morning that caused further building collapses, and the "Tre Occhi" bridge that was serving as an essential passage for aid and rescue workers was ordered closed.
    Pirozzi said he is "deeply worried" that another bridge, the Rosa, is at risk of collapse, and that if it is also closed or collapses, access to the town could be cut off.
    In nearby Accumoli, the ground level has been lowered by 20 centimetres.
    Meanwhile in the Marche town of Ascoli Piceno, caskets of the victims from Arquata del Tronto have been arranged in a gymnasium next to the Mazzoni Hospital, and a funeral ceremony will be held at the gymnasium on 11:30 Saturday.
    One of the quake's youngest victims, nine-year-old Giulia, is among the caskets in the Ascoli gym.
    On Friday, Giulia's mother was brought from hospital on a stretcher to visit her daughter's casket there.
    Putting her face close to a photo of her daughter on the casket, the mother said, "Ciao, mamma loves you a lot".
    Giulia's younger sister, 5-year-old Giorgia, was pulled alive from the rubble by a firefighter.
    Her mother was being helped by relatives during the visit and was brought back to the hospital after a few minutes.
    Another woman, Patrizia, survived the quake in Pescara del Tronto, but lost her husband, her son, and her elderly parents.
    Premier Matteo Renzi has declared a national day of mourning to coincide with the August 27 funeral, with flags to fly at half-mast on all public buildings.
    Renzi and Italian President Sergio Mattarella will be present for the funeral ceremony and will then visit some of the locations hit by the quake in Lazio.
    Amatrice will hold a memorial service without caskets on Wednesday, August 31 at 18:00.