Italian avalanche death toll rises as six die in helicopter crash nearby
|
Version 0 of 1. Hopes have faded that any more survivors of the avalanche that buried a hotel in a central Italian ski resort would be found after the death toll more than doubled to 17, with 12 people still unaccounted for. As rescue crews continued to search the Rigopiano hotel on Tuesday, an emergency helicopter crashed at ski resort in the same Abruzzo region, killing six people. The two fatal incidents come after a series of earthquakes and weeks of heavy snow in Abruzzo. Thousands of people have been without electricity for more than a week and emergency crews have been working around the clock. The helicopter was ferrying an injured skier off the slopes of the Campo Felice ski area when it hit the mountainside in heavy fog. Five crew members and the skier were killed. Emergency workers at the centre where rescue efforts at the avalanche-hit hotel are being coordinated rushed to the crash site about 100 km (60 miles) away. The death toll from the18 January avalanche, climbed on Tuesday with the discovery of 10 bodies. Nine people have been pulled alive from the rubble, the last one early on Saturday. Firefighters’ spokesman Alberto Maiolo said search crews aided by excavators were finally able to penetrate the central part of the hotel, finding the bodies in the bar and kitchen area but no signs of life. “Logically, hopes fade as time passes, but we are continuing to search and trying to do it as quickly as possible,” he said. The first funerals of those who died were held on Tuesday, with crowds gathering at the hilltop church in Farindola to pay their respects to Alessandro Giancaterino, the hotel’s chief waiter. Giancaterino, one of the first victims to be found, had offered to stay for a double shift on 18 January to spare a colleague from having to make his way in through the snow, which was 2-3 metres (6-10ft) deep in some places. “He was a great, hard worker. He was very professional,” said Giancaterino’s brother, Massimiliano. “This is the memory that I want to keep of my brother, beyond obviously the private ones that I keep in my heart.” Prosecutors are investigating whether a series of missed communications, underestimations of risks and delays in responding to days of heavy snowfall contributed to the the hotel deaths. In addition, they are looking into the original construction of the isolated resort and whether it should have been open for business at all in such conditions. Massimiliano Giancaterino, who is also a former mayor of Farindola, said it was useless to speculate now about whether the deaths could have been avoided. “Now it is not the time for hypothesis,” he said. “It is the time of pain and above all my thoughts go to the friends and relatives of those who are still missing.” Two of the avalanche’s youngest survivors, Samuel Di Michelangelo and Edoardo Di Carlo, were discharged from the hospital on Tuesday. Officials have confirmed that Edoardo’s parents were killed in the avalanche, while Samuel’s are still unaccounted for. Before their release, the boys had a video conference call with one of their heroes: Argentinian footballer Paulo Dybala, one of Italian team Juventus’s standout players. “He’s very sensitive about these types of things and was happy to participate,” said a Juventus spokeswoman on condition of anonymity. Two other survivors, Vincenzo Forti and Giorgia Galassi, briefed police for several hours on Tuesday before returning to their home in Giulianova. Galassi told reporters outside her parents’ home on the Adriatic coast that she was reticent to speak publicly about her and her partner’s ordeal, saying she wanted to respect the people who died and those still waiting to learn the fate of their loved ones. “I respect them. I have lived the same experience. I knew everyone,” she said, Forti by her side. |