Relatives Gather To Remember Earthquake Victims

A mass state funeral has taken place to remember some of the hundreds of people killed in the Italian earthquake.

Grieving relatives have attended an evening service for dozens of the 292 victims in a tent complex in Amatrice.

Emergency services placed coffins in rows, with little white caskets carrying babies and children placed between larger ones.

Bouquets were placed on the top of them as family members sat next to them.

The bishop of Rieti, Domenico Pompili, presided over the ceremony, which started with him reading aloud the names of the 242 people killed in Amatrice and Accumoli.

He also urged the leaders present not to allow reconstruction to get bogged down in "political quarrels".

"If we abandon these villages, we will kill them for a second time," the bishop said.

He also issued a veiled critique of the suspected shoddy construction of the buildings causing so many of the deaths and warned the rebuilding effort must not become a "looting" of state coffers.

He added: "Earthquakes don't kill. What kills the most is the work of man."

The service, which was held in the grounds of a Catholic home for the elderly, came as Italy observed a second day of national mourning.

The crowd erupted in applause - a common gesture at Italian funerals - when white balloons were released at the end of the service.

Italy's President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and a senior representative of Pope Francis were among the hundreds of mourners.

Rome mayor Virginia Raggi also attented to pay her respects to the more than 80 residents of the capital who died.

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Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos was also there to remember the Romanian nationals who died in the quake.

Crews using bulldozers and steamrollers worked through the night to construct the open-sided tented roof to shelter the altar and the seating area.

Civil protection officials said only 37 coffins would be on hand, since many families had opted for private funerals elsewhere.

Initially, authorities planned to hold the funeral in an airport hangar in Rieti, 40 miles away, citing safety and organisational concerns.

The quake area has seen more than 2,500 aftershocks and faces logistical problems in bringing relatives and officials into a town with only one serviceable access road.

But grieving residents rebelled at plans to let them watch it on TV or be bussed to Rieti, where many bodies were being housed in a makeshift morgue at the airport.

It was the second state funeral for victims of the disaster which flattened three towns in central Italy, on 24 August.

The first was held on Saturday which honoured victims from the Le Marche region.