Weeping relatives hugged each other and reached out to touch the varnished coffins of victims of an earthquake at a state funeral held on Saturday (August 27) for some of the 290 people who died in the deadly disaster.<br /><br /> Amongst the 35 coffins laid out in a sports hall were two small caskets holding the bodies of an 18-month-old baby and a nine-year-old girl, two of some 21 children who died when the quake hit central Italy early on Wednesday.<br /><br /> “Don’t be afraid to bewail your suffering, we have seen so much suffering. But I ask you not to lose your courage,” Bishop Giovanni D’Ercole said in a homily in the hall, which was packed with grieving families and the nation’s top politicians.<br /><br /> “Only together we can rebuild our houses and churches. Above all, together we can give life back to our communities,” he said, speaking in front of a dusty crucifix that had been salvaged from one of dozens of churches devastated by the quake.<br /><br /> The youngest victim of the earthquake was five months old. The oldest was 93.<br /><br /> Oh man. Heartrending letter fr firefighter 2 girl pulled fr rubble: sorry I got there too late; we gave our all #CBC pic.twitter.com/RQ5AvXkcAt— Megan Williams (@MKWilliamsRome) August 27, 2016<br /> <br /><br /> Rescuers continued to search through the rubble using special tools, cameras and microphones on Saturday, but there was little hope of finding survivors.<br /><br /> How do you cover grief like this? It's gentle, pervasive, yet hard and catching in your throat. A hand on a shoulder. A pursed lip. SBSNews— Nastasya Tay (NastasyaTay) August 27, 2016<br /> <br /><br /> #Arquata. High in the hills of central Italy. Day of mourning. pic.twitter.com/qv61vNDMSZ— Paul Workman (@PaulCTV) August 27, 2016<br />
