Abruzzo, Italy – On Thursday, January 19, 2017 an avalanche came down the slopes of the Gran Sasso mountain range and hit the Hotel Rigopiano in the central Abruzzo region of Italy. Up to 30 people are trapped and are currently missing.
The avalanche occurred in the early morning hours of Thursday, just hours after four earthquakes with magnitude 5.0 and higher shook central Italy. This sparked fears of avalanches in the region.
According to CBC.ca, the guests had all checked out and were waiting for snowplows to open the road and take them down the mountain. The BBC.com writes that “When the avalanche struck, it partially brought down the roof and, according to some reports, shifted the building 10m (11 yards) off its foundations.”
Two survivors, Giampiero Parete and Fabio Salzetta, were outside the hotel when the avalanche struck (CBC.ca,). Rescuers were notified by phone at approximately 17:40. Unfortunately it took until 20:00 before authorities responded to the distress calls. Due to severe weather conditions in a region that had seen meters of snow in recent days, it took time for rescuers to access the hotel.
Rescuers on skis arrived at approximately 4:30am after skiing through a blizzard to access the site. Other rescuers set up a base camp with ambulances in the town of Penne. At dawn more rescuers arrived via helicopter.
It is believed that the hotel had 20 guests and 7 staff members staying at the 43-room, 4-star luxury hotel, but the number could be higher.
At this point, three bodies have been found, but there are no signs of life. Rescuers are actively looking for people.
For photos of this tragic accident, visit BBC.com
We will try to update this post when more information is available.
Update 1/20: According to GlobalNews.ca, rescuers have now pulled out 10 survivors, 4 of them children, from the avalanche debris. Visit the link for videos of the rescue.
Here is a short video posted on YouTube by BBC News:
Read more about the avalanche that destroyed the Italian hotel from the following sources:
