Italy quake: Emergency declared as hopes for more survivors fade

Rescue efforts in Amatrice continued for a second night

Italy has declared a state of emergency in the regions worst hit by Wednesday's earthquake as hopes of finding more survivors fade.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has pledged €50m (£42m) in funds for rebuilding. At least 267 people are now known to have died and 400 were injured. Teams have continued to search the rubble of toppled buildings for a second night.

Whole buildings in Amatrice were flattened

Residents in the town have been sleeping in a gymnasium

Some rescuers have been using their bare hands to sift through debris

However, hundreds of aftershocks have hampered the efforts of the 5,000 rescuers. Another magnitude-4.7 tremor struck early on Friday.

• Search for survivors as it happened
• Read the survivors' stories
• Aerial shots of quake-hit Italy
• In pictures: before and after

In addition to the funds, Mr Renzi cancelled taxes for residents and announced a new initiative, "Italian Homes", to tackle criticism over shoddy construction.

But he also said that it was "absurd" to think that Italy could build completely quake-proof buildings. It follows criticism in the Italian press over building standards in high-risk areas. Some of the buildings that collapsed had recently been renovated.

Historic towns do not have to conform to anti-quake building regulations, which are also often not applied when new buildings are put up.