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Many people feared dead in Italian hotel hit by avalanche after quake - reports | |
(about 11 hours later) | |
Up to 30 people are feared dead, after an Italian hotel was struck by an avalanche following a series of earthquakes, according to media reports. | |
The disaster happened at the base of the Gran Sasso mountain range near the Rigopiano di Farindola hotel. | The disaster happened at the base of the Gran Sasso mountain range near the Rigopiano di Farindola hotel. |
“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 Italian media, as cited by Reuters. | |
The civil agency added that there were up to 20 guests, some of them children, and seven staff members in the three-story hotel. | |
The head of a rescue squad that reached the hotel reported that “there are many dead,” as cited on the Italian news agency ANSA’s website. | |
The hotel had partly collapsed and was partially submerged by snow, the agency added. | |
Two people who were found outside the hotel have been transported to safety. | |
“I’m safe because I went to get something in the car,” said 38-year-old Giampaolo Parete, a survivor whose wife and the two children are under the rubble, as cited by ANSA. | |
“I was submerged by the snow, but managed to get out,” he added. | |
Witnesses told ANSA that the avalanche was of incredible strength for the area, and rescuers had been delayed by a snowstorm. The advance party reached the hotel only after a 10-kilometer cross country ski trek. | |
The rescue efforts are being hampered by five meters of snow, other officials said, as quoted by Reuters. | |
“We’re dropping our rescue units down by helicopter and they are starting to dig,” said Luca Cari, spokesman for the national fire brigades, as cited by Reuters. | |
On Thursday, the president of Pescara province wrote on Facebook that there were 20 guests at the hotel when it was buried by the avalanche, as cited by AP. | |
“What is certain is that the building took a direct hit from the avalanche, to the point that it was moved by 10 meters,” he added, as quoted by AFP. | |
The Gran Sasso Resort Farindola (Pescara) is a situated some 1,200 meters above sea level. | |
Central Italy was struck by a series of earthquakes on Wednesday, measuring up to magnitude 5.7, with tremors reportedly felt across the regions of Abruzzo, Marche and Lazio – including the city of Rome. | Central Italy was struck by a series of earthquakes on Wednesday, measuring up to magnitude 5.7, with tremors reportedly felt across the regions of Abruzzo, Marche and Lazio – including the city of Rome. |
In addition to the quakes, the country has been pounded by heavy snowfall and rain. | In addition to the quakes, the country has been pounded by heavy snowfall and rain. |
The Civil Protection department in the Marche region announced an alarm for possible avalanches. There are also concerns that a river in Pescara might soon burst its banks. Some 100,000 people have been left without electricity in the region of Abruzzo after heavy snowfalls, ANSA reports. | The Civil Protection department in the Marche region announced an alarm for possible avalanches. There are also concerns that a river in Pescara might soon burst its banks. Some 100,000 people have been left without electricity in the region of Abruzzo after heavy snowfalls, ANSA reports. |