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| Rigopiano avalanche: Six found alive in Italy hotel after two days | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Six people have been found alive in Italy's Rigopiano hotel, two days after it was buried in an avalanche. | Six people have been found alive in Italy's Rigopiano hotel, two days after it was buried in an avalanche. |
| Rescuers said the six survivors had been discovered buried under snow, but had not yet been extracted. One is a young girl, Italian media said. | |
| "They are alive and we are talking to them," fire spokesperson Luca Cari told Reuters news agency. | |
| The deep avalanche buried the remote hotel, in the central Abruzzo region, after several earthquakes. | The deep avalanche buried the remote hotel, in the central Abruzzo region, after several earthquakes. |
| At least four people have been confirmed dead, and about 20 are still missing, as the rescue effort continues in difficult conditions. Children are believed to be among the guests. | At least four people have been confirmed dead, and about 20 are still missing, as the rescue effort continues in difficult conditions. Children are believed to be among the guests. |
| Teams have been working at the scene for more than 24 hours in temperatures well below zero. | Teams have been working at the scene for more than 24 hours in temperatures well below zero. |
| Rescue teams have requested helicopter support to save the six people they have discovered, Italian media reported. | Rescue teams have requested helicopter support to save the six people they have discovered, Italian media reported. |
| Italy's Rai television channel said the survivors are three men, two women, and a young girl. | |
| They have spent at least 40 hours buried in the snow and rubble. | They have spent at least 40 hours buried in the snow and rubble. |
| Wednesday's earthquakes included four stronger than magnitude 5, in a region already struggling with heavy snowfall which buried phone lines and took out power cables. Phone lines were down at the Rigopiano hotel early on Wednesday. | |
| Some reports suggest the guests had gathered on the ground floor of the hotel to await evacuation following the earthquakes. | |
| But the avalanche completely buried the hotel at about 16:30 on Wednesday. | |
| The force of the snow partially brought down the roof and, according to some reports, shifted the building 10m (11 yards) off its foundations. | |
| Rescuers, who were forced to ski and shovel their way towards the site of the avalanche, were reportedly only dispatched hours later. They reached the hotel by 04:30 (03:30 GMT) on Thursday, after a night of freezing temperatures. | |
| Twenty-two guests and seven staff members were registered as being at the hotel, but the actual number is unclear, and rescuers say it could be as many as 35. | |
| Two people who were outside the hotel at the time of the avalanche survived. | |
| A list of 23 names given by La Stampa newspaper suggests that most are Italians but they include a Swiss national and a Romanian. | |
| Three are children aged six, seven and nine, and the oldest person on the list is a man of 60. | |
| Italy has seen a wave of damaging earthquakes in recent months. The Apennines region saw three magnitude-6 tremors between August and October. | |
| It is believed that the geological stress is spread across a number of fault lines in Italy's mountain ranges - with recent earthquakes as the result. | |
| Are you in the area or have you been affected by this incident? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | |
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