‘Many dead’ in avalanche-hit hotel after Italy quake
By AP
Published: Thu 19 Jan 2017, 11:33 AM
Last updated: Thu 19 Jan 2017, 5:14 PM
An avalanche hit a popular mountain hotel in central Italy after a series of strong earthquakes had rattled the area, and up to 30 people might be buried under the snow, officials said on Wednesday.
“Around 30 people are unaccounted for, between guests and workers at the Hotel Rigopiano in Farindola,” Fabrizio Curcio, head of Italy’s civil protection department, told reporters.
Other officials said it was too early to say if anyone might have died, with the rescue operation hampered by up to 5 metres (16.4 ft) of snow which has fallen on the Gran Sasso mountain range in the central Abruzzo region in recent days.
The avalanche collapsed part of the four-storey hotel, which is some 1,200 metres (4,000 ft) above sea level, and moved it some 10 metres (30 ft) according to media reports.
A wall of snow and debris hit the hotel on Wednesday evening, just hours after four strong earthquakes had shaken central Italy, sparking fears about possible avalanches.
Two men who were outside the building at the time of the disaster and raised the alarm.
“I am alive because I went to get something from my car,” one of the two, Giampiero Parete, told medical staff, according to la Repubblica website.
Blocked roads in the area meant the first rescuers only arrived at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT) after they had skied through a heavy snow storm to reach the site. After dawn broke, emergency services sent in helicopters.
“We’re dropping our rescue units down by helicopter and they are starting to dig,” said Luca Cari, spokesman for the national fire brigades.
A base camp for rescue workers was set up in the town of Penne, some 10 km (6 miles) away from the Rigopiano hotel, which was a popular 4-star spa resort with 43 rooms.
An aerial shot of the hotel released by the fire brigade showed just the last floor and the roof visible above a thick blanket of snow.
Initial television pictures showed that mounds of snow and debris had smashed through a hotel wall into the lobby.
Italian media had earlier reported that “many dead” had been found inside the hotel. However officials in the area denied the report.
The Latest on the avalanche that buried a hotel in central Italy (all times local):
11:15 am.Hotel guest’s SMS: ‘Help, we’re dying of cold’Italian news reports say that some guests at a mountain hotel struck by an avalanche sent text messages to emergency numbers advising they were trapped inside.
“Help, we’re dying of cold,” one couple wrote rescuers, according to the ANSA news agency.
In addition, someone who had managed to get out also texted authorities. The guest, identified by news reports as Fabio Salzetta, sent a SMS message saying he had escaped with a maintenance worker but that others were trapped inside.
Corriere della Sera quoted the text message as saying: “Some walls were knocked down.” And: “I’m outside with a maintenance worker but you can’t see anything of the hotel, there’s only a wall of snow in front of me.”
11 am.
Images show rescuers entering avalanche hotelTelevision images show piles of snow and rubble cascading down the stairway into the foyer of the hotel struck by an avalanche.
Sky TG24 has broadcast the first images from rescue workers entering the hotel. The foyer appeared to be mostly clear of snow, but images showed a pile of debris-filled snow entering from a stairwell and in corridors. The audio was silent.
Italian authorities say that 30 people are missing after the avalanche in the central Abruzzo region.
10:25 am.
Avalanche survivor saved by going to car Italian news agency ANSA is quoting a survivor as saying he was saved because he had gone outside to his car to get something when an avalanche hit a mountain hotel.
The survivor, identified as 38-year-old Giampaolo Parete, told doctors that his wife and two children were buried in the avalanche.
He said that the car hadn’t been buried and that he waited there for rescuers.
Italian authorities say that 30 people are missing after the avalanche in the central Abruzzo region.
9:20 a.m.
Italian authorities: 30 missing in avalancheItalian civil protection authorities say that 30 people are missing after an avalanche covered a mountain hotel in central Italy.
The authority says they were working to get rescue vehicles to the Hotel Rigopiano through roads covered in snow, joining initial rescue efforts overnight by alpine rescue squads.
Italian media say that the avalanche covered the three-story hotel in the central region of Abruzzo on Wednesday evening. The news agency ANSA quoted a rescuer as saying that there were fatalities, but details weren’t immediately available.
9:10 a.m.
Avalanche buries hotel, reports of dead An Italian official says a hotel in an earthquake-hit zone of central Italy has been buried by an avalanche, with reports of dead.
Italian media say that the avalanche covered the three-story hotel in the central region of Abruzzo on Wednesday evening. The news agency ANSA quoted a rescuer as saying that there were fatalities, but details weren’t immediately available.
The president of the Pescara provincial wrote on Facebook on Thursday that there were 20 guests at the hotel when it was covered by the avalanche, about 45 kilometers (30 miles) from the coastal city of Pescara.