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| Italy avalanche: many feared dead as Rigopiano hotel buried | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Up to 30 people are missing with many feared dead after an avalanche buried a ski resort hotel in the Abruzzo region of central Italy, which has been rattled by a series of earthquakes. | Up to 30 people are missing with many feared dead after an avalanche buried a ski resort hotel in the Abruzzo region of central Italy, which has been rattled by a series of earthquakes. |
| About 20 to 30 guests had been staying at the Rigopiano hotel in the town of Farindola, in the lower Gran Sasso mountain range, when the avalanche struck on Wednesday night. | About 20 to 30 guests had been staying at the Rigopiano hotel in the town of Farindola, in the lower Gran Sasso mountain range, when the avalanche struck on Wednesday night. |
| “There are many dead,” said a member of the Alpine Rescue squad that battled through blizzard conditions on skis to reach the hotel at about 4am. | “There are many dead,” said a member of the Alpine Rescue squad that battled through blizzard conditions on skis to reach the hotel at about 4am. |
| “We haven’t been able to do too much,” added Antonio Crocetta from the scene, about 1,200 metres above sea level. “The structure has collapsed. It’s more like a pile of rubble than a hotel. | “We haven’t been able to do too much,” added Antonio Crocetta from the scene, about 1,200 metres above sea level. “The structure has collapsed. It’s more like a pile of rubble than a hotel. |
| “What is left of the hotel is in danger of collapse. The hotel is almost completely destroyed. We’ve called out but we’ve heard no replies, no voices. We’re digging and looking for people.” | “What is left of the hotel is in danger of collapse. The hotel is almost completely destroyed. We’ve called out but we’ve heard no replies, no voices. We’re digging and looking for people.” |
| Italy’s fire service said dogs were helping with the search but there was no sign yet that any of the 20 to 30 people, many of them children, staying at the hotel were alive. | Italy’s fire service said dogs were helping with the search but there was no sign yet that any of the 20 to 30 people, many of them children, staying at the hotel were alive. |
| A base camp for rescue workers was set up in the town of Penne, about 6 miles (10km) away, where ambulances waited for earth-moving vehicles to clear the winding, snow-clogged road leading to the hotel. | A base camp for rescue workers was set up in the town of Penne, about 6 miles (10km) away, where ambulances waited for earth-moving vehicles to clear the winding, snow-clogged road leading to the hotel. |
| Video footage shot from inside the hotel showed piles of snow and rubble cascading down the stairway into the foyer. Rescuers were also filmed digging through a wall of snow, and leading at least one man away through the cleared path. | Video footage shot from inside the hotel showed piles of snow and rubble cascading down the stairway into the foyer. Rescuers were also filmed digging through a wall of snow, and leading at least one man away through the cleared path. |
| Two people, one suffering from hypothermia, survived because they were outside the building when the avalanche hit. | Two people, one suffering from hypothermia, survived because they were outside the building when the avalanche hit. |
| Giampaolo Parete, 38, told doctors he had gone to collect something from his car, leaving his wife and children inside, the Ansa news agency reported. | Giampaolo Parete, 38, told doctors he had gone to collect something from his car, leaving his wife and children inside, the Ansa news agency reported. |
| The bodies of three victims have been removed from the building. | The bodies of three victims have been removed from the building. |
| Avalanche warnings were issued across the region, which is dominated by Gran Sasso, a majestic 2,912-metre (9,554ft) peak. The area has numerous small ski resorts popular with day-trippers from Rome and urban centres on Italy’s east coast. | Avalanche warnings were issued across the region, which is dominated by Gran Sasso, a majestic 2,912-metre (9,554ft) peak. The area has numerous small ski resorts popular with day-trippers from Rome and urban centres on Italy’s east coast. |
| On Wednesday central Italy was struck by four earthquakes, measuring between 5.1 and 5.7 magnitude. | On Wednesday central Italy was struck by four earthquakes, measuring between 5.1 and 5.7 magnitude. |
| An 82-year-old man died after the roof of a farm building in Castel Castagna, a town in the Abruzzo province of Teramo, collapsed on him. | An 82-year-old man died after the roof of a farm building in Castel Castagna, a town in the Abruzzo province of Teramo, collapsed on him. |
| A mother and her child were pulled from rubble in the same area, while the search for a 60-year-old man, buried under snow in nearby Campotosto, was called off on Wednesday night. | A mother and her child were pulled from rubble in the same area, while the search for a 60-year-old man, buried under snow in nearby Campotosto, was called off on Wednesday night. |
| Three farmers were also reported missing. | Three farmers were also reported missing. |
| The civil protection agency has warned of further avalanches, with its chief saying the situation remained critical. | The civil protection agency has warned of further avalanches, with its chief saying the situation remained critical. |
| “Bad weather and earthquakes in the same area have made it a complicated situation,” Fabrizio Curcio said, adding a little later that authorities were confronting “two exceptional events that already alone would have created great difficulty in the response”. | “Bad weather and earthquakes in the same area have made it a complicated situation,” Fabrizio Curcio said, adding a little later that authorities were confronting “two exceptional events that already alone would have created great difficulty in the response”. |
| For the heavy snowfall, Curcio said “we try to tell people to stay in their own homes, if they are secure, obviously. And in the areas of quakes, people should leave their homes. Putting together these two elements is extremely complicated.” | For the heavy snowfall, Curcio said “we try to tell people to stay in their own homes, if they are secure, obviously. And in the areas of quakes, people should leave their homes. Putting together these two elements is extremely complicated.” |
| The quakes struck close to Amatrice, one of the towns destroyed by an earthquake in August that left almost 300 people dead and thousands homeless. | The quakes struck close to Amatrice, one of the towns destroyed by an earthquake in August that left almost 300 people dead and thousands homeless. |
| The bell tower of the Sant’Agostino church, the last monument to survive last summer’s quake, collapsed after the first quake on Wednesday morning, according to local news reports. | The bell tower of the Sant’Agostino church, the last monument to survive last summer’s quake, collapsed after the first quake on Wednesday morning, according to local news reports. |
| Reuters contributed to this report | Reuters contributed to this report |