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Tourists & staff feared missing after avalanche hits Italian ski resort hotel Many people feared dead in Italian hotel hit by avalanche after quake - reports
(about 11 hours later)
Several people are believed to be missing after an avalanche struck a hotel in Pescara, in the Abruzzo region in Italy, local media report. 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.
Emergency services have been dispatched to the scene where up to 20 people have been staying in the hotel, according to Italian media reports. Rescuers believe three people are missing, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.  “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.
“There seem to be victims, but it all needs to be confirmed. There were 20 guests in the hotel,” according to provincial President Antonio Di Marco. The civil agency added that there were up to 20 guests, some of them children, and seven staff members in the three-story hotel.
Rescue teams on site are trying to reach people on their mobile phones, but the phones are reportedly not being answered.  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.
Emergency services were notified of the disaster by two visitors staying at the hotel. They said that about twenty guests were registered at the time of the incident, besides the employees who have been working at the hotel. The hotel had partly collapsed and was partially submerged by snow, the agency added.
The Gran Sasso Resort Farindola (Pescara) is a situated  some 1,200 meters above sea level making rescue efforts difficult. Rescue teams could take up to three hours to get there as they need to cover roughly 50 km in treacherous weather conditions to get there. Two people who were found outside the hotel have been transported to safety.
The National Mountain Rescue Corps (CNSAS) said it has dispatched about  35 people, split into four teams from Abruzzo and the neighboring region to organize the search, but the roads are blocked by 2 meter piles of snow. “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.
Civil Protection chief, Fabrizio Curcio, said that his agency is assessing the situation in central Italy adding it was a difficult task.
"The situation is quite complicated," Curcio told Sky television. “It has been snowing without stop in that area (central Italy,) for hours and it will continue to do so for the next few hours.”