Officials fear many deaths in avalanche-hit hotel in Italy

Rescuers fear several people have been killed after an avalanche burried a hotel in Italy following Wednesday's earthquakes. Heavy snow is complicating rescue efforts.


Italian rescue services fear "many" people have died after an avalanche plowed into a ski hotel in central Italy on Wednesday morning, though officials have yet to confirm details of any fatalities. The affected hotel Rigopiano is located in the lower sections of the Gran Sasso mountain in Abruzzo, a region hit by several powerful earthquakes on Wednesday.

The head of Italy's Civil Protection Agency Fabrizio Curcio told reporters at a press conference that "around 30 people are unaccounted for, between guests and workers at the Hotel Rigopiano in Farindola."

Rescue crews, who had reached the hotel around 4:30am Wednesday morning following a 10 kilometer (6 mile) cross-country ski trek, said there were no signs of life in the hotel, local media reported. The force of the avalanche moved the hotel 10 some meters (33 feet).
Survivor pulled from his car

One survivor was hospitalized after rescue crews pulled him from his car which had been parked outside the hotel. 38-year-old Giampaolo Parete had gone to his vehicle to retrieve something when the avalanche struck.
"I am alive because I went to get something from my car," he told medics, according to local media. Paolo believed his wife and children had been buried by the snow.

Local media also reported the rescue of a second survivor, though it remains unclear whether the individual had been inside or outside the building at the moment of impact.

Italian officials believe there were around 20 guests, including children, and seven staff members in the three-story hotel when the avalanche hit. Snow up to 5 meters (16.4 feet) deep is complicating rescue efforts as road access to the hotel remains cut off, forcing ambulance to remain parked some nine kilometers (5.5 miles) away.
The national fire brigade announced it was dropping rescue crews in via helicopter to dig out the covered hotel. The crews' video footage showed piles of snow and debris filling the hotel's hallways after having plowed through the walls.

Officials already attribute one death to earthquake after the body of an individual was found under building debris in the town of Castel Castagna in the Teramo province. The earthquake also tens of thousands of homes in the Abruzzo and the Marche region without power.
  (AFP, dpa, Reuters, AP)
 dw.com
19/1/17
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• A series of strong earthquakes have hit central Italy