Aftershocks continue to rattle mourning Italy
Tears flow as Italy prepares funeral for quake dead
Ascoli Piceno ( Italy), Aug. 27: Residents of an Italian region 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 on Saturday.
Ahead of 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.
A young man wept over a little girl’s small white coffin, while a woman nearby gently stroked another white coffin ahead of a state funeral in Italy for some of the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck a central mountainous area this week.
As Italy observed a day of national mourning, with flags flying at halfstaff, those hit hardest by the tragedy expressed their grief.
Everywhere people hugged and cried as they stood amid more than 30 coffins laid out in a community gym in Ascoli Piceno, scene of the state funeral in the presence of President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Matteo Renzi.
“It is a great tragedy. There are no words to describe it,” said Gina Razzetti, a town resident who joined hundreds of local people for the funeral. “Each one of us has our pain inside. We are thinking about the families who lost relatives, who lost their homes, who lost everything.”
The two children being mourned were an 18month girl, Marisol, and 9- year- old Giulia, whose sister was miraculously pulled from the rubble after being buried for many hours. The surviving child, Giorgia, turned four on Saturday.
Many children and elderly people were killed. Some of the older residents had grandchildren visiting in the last days of summer.
The magnitude 6.2 quake killed at least 290 people, but the death toll could rise as recovery efforts continue. Several people are still unaccounted for.
“The melancholy grabs on to your heart, you feel a sense of weakness, of depression,” said Fiore Ciotto, a resident of Ascoli Piceno who arrived for the funeral. “An event like this weakens you physically and mentally.”
Funerals for some victims took place on Friday, while those for many others are expected in the coming days.