The death toll from an earthquake that flattened parts of central Italy rose to 267 on Friday as rescue workers pulled more bodies from mounds of debris and families prepared to hold the first funerals, the Civil Protection Department spokeswoman Immacolata Postiglione said at a briefing.
The civil protection department in Rome said nearly 400 people were being treated for injuries in hospitals, and local media reports said about 40 of them were in critical condition.
The earthquake struck the mountainous regions of Umbria, Lazio and Marche in the early hours of Wednesday, causing extensive damage and around 650 aftershocks continuing 48 hours later.
