Aftershocks rattle Italy as national mourning begins
By Associated Press
Aug 27, 2016 12:57 AM CDT
A woman touches a coffin of one of the victims of Wednesday's earthquake, inside a gymnasium in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. Strong aftershocks rattled residents and rescue crews alike Friday as hopes began to dim that firefighters would find any more survivors from Italy's earthquake....   (Associated Press)

ASCOLI PICENO, Italy (AP) — Residents of Italian towns devastated by an earthquake were rattled by a series of aftershocks overnight, the strongest measuring 4.2, as Italy began a day of national mourning.

The national mourning includes a state funeral for some of the victims in Ascoli Piceno to be attended by Premier Matteo Renzi and President Sergio Mattarella. Ahead the funeral, caskets were lined up in a gym where mourners have been bidding farewell to loved ones, kneeling, crying and placing their hands on flower-covered caskets.

The quake that struck before dawn on Wednesday took the lives of at least 281 people while 387 have been hospitalized for injuries.

Saturday's early morning aftershock had a magnitude of 4.2, according to the Geological Service, while the Italian geophysics institute measured it at 4.

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