PESCARA DEL TRONTO, Italy, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Hopes of finding more survivors faded on Friday three days after a powerful earthquake hit central Italy, with the death toll rising to 267 and the rescue operation in some of the stricken areas called off. About 5,400 emergency workers, firefighters, soldiers and volunteers, helped by 50 sniffer dogs, continued to sift through piles of cement, rock and twisted metal, many pointing out that the last survivor from the L’Aquila quake was found 72 hours after it struck. In a first raft of emergency relief measures, Renzi cancelled residents’ taxes in and around the hardest-hit towns of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto, between 60 and 90 miles (95-145km) north-east of Rome. The civil protection department in Rome said nearly 400 people were being treated for injuries in hospitals, and 40 of them were in critical condition. Hide Caption 30 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy The quake left this house in ruins in Arquata del Tronto. Hide Caption 20 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy An emergency services helicopter takes off in Amatrice as rescuers continue the search for survivors. More than 1,050 aftershocks have hit the area since the 6.2 magnitude quake early on Wednesday, bringing fresh damage to structures still standing. "We don't know, and we might never know, if the number of missing that we knew about actually corresponds to the people who were actually under the rubble." The foreigners who died in the disaster included six Romanians, a Spanish woman, a Canadian and an Albanian. "British Embassy staff will continue working with local authorities regarding any further British nationals that may require our assistance." Hide Caption 41 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Residents search for victims in Amatrice. The first funeral of a victim was held in Rome on Friday, for Marco Santarelli, the 28-year-old son of a senior state official, who died in the family's holiday home in Amatrice. The 2,500-strong population of the medieval hilltop town, voted one of Italy’s most beautiful historic towns last year, was swollen with summer visitors, many from Rome, in anticipation of its popular annual food festival this weekend. Yesterday during the night it almost reached freezing, so people cannot be here for a long time." 'The earthquake was brutal'

The Italian Council of Ministers approved a state of emergency Thursday for the regions affected by the earthquake, allocating 50 million euros (about $56.5 million) in funding, while the displaced took refuge in the camps. Italy’s older buildings are not obliged to conform to anti-seismic building codes, and experts estimate it could cost more than €90bn to reinforce all the country’s historic buildings. In May 2012, a pair of temblors killed dozens of people in northern Italy, while in April 2009, a magnitude-6.3 earthquake hit in the central L'Aquila region, leaving more than 300 people dead.
A state of emergency is declared in Italy following several strong earthquakes.