Farindola, Italy – After a week long rescue effort, authorities believe that everyone who was caught in the avalanche at the Hotel Rigopiano in Abruzzo has been accounted for. During the search, rescuers found 11 survivors and pulled a total of 29 bodies from the debris. The last bodies were discovered on Wednesday night (25 January 2017).
The avalanche occurred on January 18, 2017 after heavy snows and a series of earthquakes shook Central Italy. The slide destroyed the hotel and trapped the hotel guests and staff on site. Two individuals managed to escape the avalanche and alerted authorities. Nine other survivors, including 4 children, were pulled from the accident site over the course of the week.
A criminal investigation will be conducted due to the fact that early emergency calls were not taken seriously. The first rescuers arrived on skis, 11 hours after the avalanche.
BBC.com reports that the avalanche contained 120,000 tons of snow and hit the hotel at 100 km/h (60mph).
