Strong aftershocks rattle devastated Italian earthquake zone

Strong aftershocks rattled residents and rescue crews alike today as hopes began to dim that firefighters would find any more survivors from Italy's earthquake. The first funerals were scheduled to be celebrated for some of the 267 dead.

Some of hard-hit Amatrice's crumbled buildings suffered more cracks after the biggest aftershock of the morning struck at 6:28 am.

The US Geological Service said it had a magnitude of 4.7, while the Italian geophysics institute measured it at 4.8.

The aftershock was preceded by more than a dozen weaker ones overnight and was followed by another nine in the subsequent hour - some of the nearly 1,000 aftershocks that have rocked the seismic area of Italy's central Apennine Mountains in the two days since the original quake Wednesday.

Rescue efforts continued through the night, but more than a day and a half had passed since the last person was extracted alive from the rubble. While Premier Matteo Renzi hailed the fact that 215 people had been rescued since the quake, civil protection officials reported only a steadily rising death toll that stood early Friday at 267.

Nevertheless, civil protection operations chief Immacolata Postiglione insisted that the rescue effort continued in full, "in search of other people trapped in the rubble."

Italian news reports said the first funerals were to be celebrated on Friday for some of the victims: in Rome, for the son of a local police chief; in Pomezia Terme for two grandmothers and their two grandchildren.