L'AUILA (ITALY): Hopes faded on Wednesday of finding any more survivors from Italy's massive earthquake as the death toll rose to 260 and fresh aftershocks hampered the search for bodies. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi meanwhile was facing opposition criticism for remarks comparing the ordeal of survivors staying in emergency tents to a camping weekend. "There aren't going to be any more people alive here," said Pedro Frutos, a Spanish search dog handler at the site of a collapsed apartment building in L'Aquila, the epicentre of Monday's quake. "We're using our dogs to look for bodies," he added. Mr. Berlusconi said on Tuesday the search for survivors in the central Abruzzo region would continue for another 48 hours but the focus of the operation was now shifting to looking after survivors. Speaking to reporters in L'Aquila on Wednesday, Mr. Berlusconi said 260 people were now known to have died in the tragedy, including 16 children. Officials said 11 people were still unaccounted for following the 6.2-magnitude quake on Monday. Around 100 of the nearly 1,200 injured were said to be in a serious condition. Rescuers did manage to pull a young girl named Eleonora, still in her pyjamas, from beneath the debris of her home in L'Aquila on Tuesday night but no survivors were found on Wednesday. Several strong aftershocks overnight added to the trauma and complicated the grim rescue task. Berlusconi's gaffe A total of 17,772 people are sheltering in 2,962 tents at the camps dotted around the Abruzzo capital L'Aquila, said the Prime Minister. During a visit to a tent village on Tuesday, the gaffeprone Premier told German television "they should see it like a weekend of camping." The billionaire leader was also quoted as promising beach holidays to the victims. In a first estimate, the government said some $1.7 billion would be needed to repair or rebuild some 10,000 buildings. Several people have been arrested while trying to burgle abandoned homes in L'Aquila, prompting Mr. Berlusconi to promise new antilooting legislation which would carry "very, very severe punishment." Safety concerns led to the cancellation of Easter masses at churches damaged by the quake. Prayers this Sunday will instead be held in the tent villages dotted around lL'Aquila. - AFP