Italy observed a national day of mourning on Saturday with flags across the country at half-staff amid a state funeral for dozens of victims of the quake which killed 290 people and injured many more.
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The Civil Protection agency gave the updated figure late August 27 morning just ahead of a state funeral for some of the victims being attended by Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Matteo Renzi.
Perugia is the capital of Umbria region in central Italy.
The death toll from Wednesday’s 6.2-magnitude quake now stands at 290. There were 11 deaths in nearby Accumoli and 49 in Arquata del Tronto, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Amatrice.
Almost 400 people have been hospitalised since then, some of them with life-threatening injuries.
The strongest measured magnitude 4.2 as Italy began a day of national mourning.
“Only a miracle can bring our friends back alive from the rubble, but we are still digging because many are missing”, town mayor Sergio Pirozzi told reporters.
“Only together can we rebuild our houses and churches”.
“We hope to recover all the bodies”, he said.
During the funeral service, Bishop Giovanni D’Ercole said he had turned in anguish to God and asked: “And now, what do we do?”
There were 230 deaths in the town of 3,000 people alone.
Hardly a single building was left unscathed in Amatrice, which was past year voted one of the most handsome old towns in Italy and is famous for its local cuisine.
(LtoR) Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Italian Senate President Pietro Grasso, Italian Lower House Speaker Laura Boldrini, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife Agnese attend a funeral service for victims of the quake, at a gymnasium arranged in a chapel of rest on August 27, 2016, in Ascoli Piceno, three days after a 6.2-magnitude natural disaster struck the region killing some 290 people. The devastating tremor and its powerful aftershocks killed at least 281 people and injured 388 across the center of the country.
Most victims of the quake were Italians, but several foreigners were among those killed, including three Britons.
PESCARA DEL TRONTO, Italy Hopes of finding more survivors faded on Friday three days after a powerful quake hit central Italy, with the death toll rising to 267 and the rescue operation in some of the stricken areas called off.
Mr Renzi has praised the effort they have put in to rescue 215 people, but it is feared not many more will be found alive.
Ahead of the funeral, the president visited Amatrice, where 224 people died.
The prime minister, Matteo Renzi, declared a state of emergency, authorised an initial €50m (£43m) in aid, and cancelled residents’ taxes. “They were in an embrace”, D’Ercole said.
Many of those who survived but were rendered homeless have gone to live with relatives in Rome and elsewhere but over 2,000 who could not have been spending the night in tent villages.
Italy’s government has been criticised for failing to prevent deaths after the 2009 natural disaster in nearby L’Aquila left 300 dead.
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He said that proofing centuries-old buildings against the risk of collapse in the event of a quake would be hard but that more could be done.
