At least six survivors, including children, have been found inside the rubble of a ski hotel in central Italy that was engulfed by an avalanche on Wednesday.

Several of the survivors have been extricated from the remains of Hotel Rigopiano. But around two dozen people remain missing, Christopher Livesay reports for NPR from Rome, while four others have been confirmed dead. The death toll is expected to rise.

Tourists staying at the hotel had checked out and were waiting for roads to be cleared when an avalanche, possibly triggered by earthquakes on Wednesday, swept over and into the hotel. Two men, outside the building when the avalanche began, were located alive — but until Friday morning, there had been no sign of life inside the snow-covered resort.

Rescuers were overheard by The Associated Press saying over the radio that they had found people alive.

The number of survivors located Friday might be as high as eight, according to some Italian news outlets. After talking with the trapped people, firefighters and other rescuers worked to free them from the snow and debris.

The ANSA news agency says rescue operations proceeded in two stages, with six people being extracted — including two children — and then two more people.

The AP reports that the "incredible" discovery boosted the spirits of rescue crews:



From very early on, rescue crews knew that at least some people had survived the initial disaster — a few people buried alive sent text messages, according to reports in Italian media on Thursday. "Italian daily La Repubblica reports that one of those texts read, 'Help, help, we're freezing to death,' " Livesay says.

But rescue operations have been challenging. Those inside the hotel were trapped by 17 feet of snow as well as by the rubble, the AP reports. Walls were collapsed by the force of the avalanche, and entire one wing of the hotel was pushed downhill.

Transport has also been hampered by the narrow, snow-covered roads in the region. The first rescue teams arrived on skis; the next wave, by helicopter. Attempts to reach the region by vehicle have been slow, according to the AP, with snow piled 10 feet high and a 5.5-mile stretch of road able to take only one-way traffic.

"By late Thursday, only 25 vehicles had arrived, along with 135 rescue workers, and civil protection authorities said part of the night was spent trying to widen the road," the AP writes.

Rescuers are also fighting against the clock, Livesay reported earlier. "Chances of survival are waning amid nightfall and plunging temperatures," he says.

Meanwhile, even as rescue operations are ongoing, Italian media and officials are already considering the question of responsibility.

"State prosecutors have launched an investigation to find out if the disaster could have been averted," Livesay reports. "An avalanche warning had already been in effect, so the question is: Why wasn't the hotel evacuated before the avalanche, when it's at the base of a snowy mountain in an area that's prone to earthquakes?"</s>An avalanche in central Italy has buried a ski resort, leaving 30 people missing and prompting a frantic rescue effort.

The avalanche appeared to be triggered by four earthquakes that shook the Abruzzo region on Wednesday, says Christopher Livesay, reporting for NPR from Rome. The disaster struck in the same mountainous region where a powerful earthquake last summer killed nearly 300 people.

"The wall of snow blasted the Hotel Rigopiano ski resort as roughly 30 guests and employees slept," Livesay reports. "The civil protection agency told Italian news agency ANSA that there were 'many dead' beneath the snow and rubble, in the central Italian town of Farindola.

"Narrow mountain roads and icy weather are hampering rescue efforts," he says.

The first rescuers to reach the hotel traveled on skis, ANSA reports, while more teams followed by helicopter.

Footage of the hotel's interior showed hallways filled with snow, skylights cracking beneath the weight of the snow above and walls that had been smashed through by the force of the avalanche.

Italian media are reporting that some guests at the Hotel Rigopiano managed to send text messages after the avalanche trapped them inside the hotel.

One message, according to local media reports, came from a couple who said, "Help, we're dying of cold."

One survivor, according to ANSA, told rescuers he was spared by the avalanche because he stepped outside to get something from his car, but that his wife and children were trapped inside.

The AP notes that there are other rescue efforts active in the region, which "has been pummeled by more than a meter (three feet) of snow in recent days":



"[Storms] have knocked out power and phone lines and blocked roads, isolating towns and hamlets. " 'We have been abandoned by everyone!' marveled one resident from the province of Teramo, Daiana Nguyen, on Sky TG24. 'They talk about sending in the army: Thirty to 40 men came with shovels. We need heavy machinery.' "Nguyen said people have been stuck in their homes for days."



Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has urged the authorities to "multiply their efforts" and work to reach trapped people — both in the hotel and in the neighboring hamlets — as quickly as possible.</s>An avalanche in central Italy has buried a ski resort, leaving 30 people missing and prompting a frantic rescue effort.

The avalanche appeared to be triggered by four earthquakes that shook the Abruzzo region on Wednesday, says Christopher Livesay, reporting for NPR from Rome. The disaster struck in the same mountainous region where a powerful earthquake last summer killed nearly 300 people.

"The wall of snow blasted the Hotel Rigopiano ski resort as roughly 30 guests and employees slept," Livesay reports. "The civil protection agency told Italian news agency ANSA that there were 'many dead' beneath the snow and rubble, in the central Italian town of Farindola.

"Narrow mountain roads and icy weather are hampering rescue efforts," he says.

The first rescuers to reach the hotel traveled on skis, ANSA reports, while more teams followed by helicopter.

Footage of the hotel's interior showed hallways filled with snow, skylights cracking beneath the weight of the snow above and walls that had been smashed through by the force of the avalanche.

Italian media are reporting that some guests at the Hotel Rigopiano managed to send text messages after the avalanche trapped them inside the hotel.

One message, according to local media reports, came from a couple who said, "Help, we're dying of cold."

One survivor, according to ANSA, told rescuers he was spared by the avalanche because he stepped outside to get something from his car, but that his wife and children were trapped inside.

The AP notes that there are other rescue efforts active in the region, which "has been pummeled by more than a meter (three feet) of snow in recent days":



"[Storms] have knocked out power and phone lines and blocked roads, isolating towns and hamlets. " 'We have been abandoned by everyone!' marveled one resident from the province of Teramo, Daiana Nguyen, on Sky TG24. 'They talk about sending in the army: Thirty to 40 men came with shovels. We need heavy machinery.' "Nguyen said people have been stuck in their homes for days."



Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has urged the authorities to "multiply their efforts" and work to reach trapped people — both in the hotel and in the neighboring hamlets — as quickly as possible.</s>PENNE, Italy (CNN) -- Rescuers are working in freezing conditions to find as many as 30 people feared trapped in a hotel in central Italy, more than a day after it was buried by an avalanche.

Two people were killed when the four-star Hotel Rigopiano, at the foot of the Gran Sasso mountain about (135 kilometers) 85 miles northeast of Rome, was swallowed by snow after a series of earthquakes.

"There are many dead," Alpine rescuer Antonio Crocetta told Italian state media ANSA Thursday.

Officials say some could have survived in air pockets within the building, however rescuers so far have found no signs of life.

"We are calling out but no one is answering," one searcher told ANSA.

Officials based estimates of the missing on guest registration and staff numbers. The hotel has 43 rooms, according to website TripAdvisor.

Italian fire department spokesman Luca Cari, who was at the scene, told CNN that the hotel had been "completely slammed" in the avalanche and debris was scattered as far as 100 meters from the hotel structure, making the search area large.

Two people were rescued from the site of the hotel, Civil Protection Department chief Fabrizio Curcio told journalists.

One man, vacationing with his wife and two children, 6 and 8, said he missed being caught in the destruction only because he had walked to his car just before the avalanche hit.

"The avalanche came down and I was buried in snow, but I managed to get out. The car was not buried so I waited there for the rescuers to come," Giampiero Parete was reported to have said.

The whereabouts of his wife and children were unknown Thursday.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said the country hadn't seen this much snowfall in decades.

The deep snow combined with the earthquake created a perfect storm of sorts, exacerbating the aftermath of the temblor.

"For the weather, you tell people to stay in their homes, while for the earthquake, citizens must be brought outside. Putting together these two elements is extremely complicated," Curcio said.

Access to the hotel been difficult, but road crews cleared much of the snow and fallen trees by nighttime Thursday, finally allowing heavy rescue equipment to reach the hotel.

Snow machines and helicopters had earlier taken searchers, including dogs, up the mountain.

Rescuers battled blizzards and strong winds to reach the site, some having to ski for several kilometers in the darkness to get there because some roads were impassable.

When they arrived, they found only the building's top story and roof visible above the snow, Italy's Mountain Rescue Service said on social media. It also posted a picture of rescuers digging for survivors.

Video recorded by rescue teams showed what appears to be a smashed wall or window in the hotel's lobby, with tree branches, snow and other debris piled on the floor.

The heavy snowfall in the 24 hour-period after the quake means that the risk of more avalanches is still high high, CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said.

Central Italy was rocked by more than 10 earthquakes Wednesday, four of them above magnitude 5, according to the US Geological Survey.

Rescuers were still trying to get to other areas isolated by the avalanche, Gentiloni said, and authorities were hoping to bring power back to as many as 90,000 people who were left in darkness overnight from the extreme weather.

An initial 5.3-magnitude quake hit in the morning near the town of of Amatrice, which was devastated by powerful earthquakes in August. The tremors continued for more than six hours, with one as strong as magnitude 5.7.

While the epicenter was 90 kilometers (about 55 miles) northeast of Rome, the quake was felt in the capital.

CNN's Barbie Nadeau reported from Rome, while CNN's Angela Dewan reported and wrote from London. CNN's Milena Veselinovic, Joshua Berlinger and Brandon Miller contributed to this report.</s>Rescue workers in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, fearful about plummeting night-time temperatures, were in a race against time Thursday searching for survivors after an avalanche of snow, ice and mud flattened a resort hotel with up to 30 guests and staff members inside.

Three bodies were recovered in the piles of debris, but hopes of finding people alive were hampered by the agonizingly slow process of getting heavy equipment to the scene.

"The sun is starting to set here and the temperatures are dropping," said Giovanni Bianchi, a commander with Italy's civil protection. "The worry is that if there's a survivor we haven't found yet, they could risk freezing."

As the recovery effort dragged on and no sounds were heard from the pile of snow and rubble, Abruzzo Alpine rescuer Antonio Crocetta told the Italian news agency ANSA that "there are many dead."

The Hotel Rigopiano in the town of Farindola was ripped from its foundation and almost completely covered by a wall of snow and debris up to 35 feet tall, triggered by a series of earthquakes that shook the region Wednesday.

Heavy snowfall kept ambulances from approaching within 5 miles of the property. Some rescue workers arrived by foot, snowmobile and helicopter, local media reported.

Workers were able to access parts of the structure and documented hallways crammed with snow, ice and debris, along with the remnants of festive decorations.

One rescue worker who spoke on local TV station RAI said there was no sign of life in the decimated hotel. Antonio Di Marco, president of the provincial government, said on social media that two people were found alive.

One of them, Giampaolo Parete, a 38-year-old tourist, said he was saved because he left the hotel to retrieve something from his car parked outside. His wife and two children were inside the building, he said.

Premier Paolo Gentiloni urged authorities to redouble rescue efforts as he sought to deflect criticism. He told reporters Thursday that the priority is to reach all isolated towns and hamlets buried under snowfall for days before being jolted by the powerful quakes Wednesday.

Residents have been complaining of being left without electricity because of what Gentiloni called a “record snowfall.” Criticism has also come in about the response time to reach the buried hotel.

"We have been abandoned by everyone!” marveled one resident from the province of Teramo, Daiana Nguyen, on Sky TG24. “They talk about sending in the army: Thirty to 40 men came with shovels. We need heavy machinery.”

Nguyen said people have been stuck in their homes for days.

“Help, we’re dying of cold,” one couple wrote rescuers, according to the ANSA news agency. Another man, identified by news reports as Fabio Salzetta, sent a text message saying he escaped with a maintenance worker, but that others were trapped inside.

Corriere della Sera quoted the message as saying: “Some walls were knocked down.” And: “I’m outside with a maintenance worker but you can’t see anything of the hotel, there’s only a wall of snow in front of me.”

Wednesday’s earthquakes did not directly impact Farindola, but the temblors apparently unsettled snow on the slopes of the majestic Gran Sasso, a 9,554-foot-tall peak that dominates the region.

Because of its proximity to Rome, Italy’s capital and largest city, the area around the Gran Sasso is popular with tourists on day trips or overnight excursions.

The weather in the area had been particularly good for skiing in recent days — cold and crisp with heavy snowfall. Before the avalanche, staff members at the four-star hotel tweeted: “A dream Tuesday at Rigopiano … the snow is giving us a spectacular panorama.”

Gilberto Petrucci, municipal assessor for the nearby town of Penne, said the entire region is suffering.

“We’re on our knees in the communities around here, we can’t take much more,” Petrucci said. He added that heavy snow has isolated Penne’s 13,000 residents from other cities.

Authorities in the area closed schools and most non-essential business until at least Monday in the wake of the earthquakes and the avalanche. Freezing temperatures and snowfall are forecast until the weekend.

Wednesday’s earthquakes — at least a dozen that measured between magnitude 5.1 and 5.7 — were the third round of temblors in Abruzzo in five months. The region is still recovering from a series of earthquakes in August that killed more than 200 people. In Amatrice, close to the epicenter of the latest quakes, the Renaissance-era bell tower at the church of Sant-Agostino collapsed after being severely damaged in last year’s disaster.

The latest quakes left several hundred people homeless and cut electricity to more than 100,000 homes in the region.</s>Earthquake Triggers Avalanche at Spa in Italian Mountains An avalanche buried a four-star spa hotel in a mountainous earthquake-hit region of central Italy, leaving at least 30 people missing, authorities said on Thursday. Footage from rescuers showed the destruction inside the Hotel Rigopiano. (Published Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017)

Rescuers found eight people alive inside a Italian hotel that was buried under an avalanche, Italy's Civil Protection Agency confirmed to NBC News Friday.

It was wasn't immediately clear whether the survivors had been removed from the Hotel Rigopiano in Farindola. They had been trapped for more than 40 hours.

“We always hoped to find someone alive. The fact we found people alive after so many hours give us even more hope," said Titti Postiglione of the Civil Protection Agency.

Up to 30 people, including an unspecified number of children, were reported missing after an avalanche buried the four-star hotel on Wednesday.</s>Rescue workers in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, fearful about plummeting night-time temperatures, were in a race against time Thursday searching for survivors after an avalanche of snow, ice and mud flattened a resort hotel with up to 30 guests and staff members inside.

Three bodies were recovered in the piles of debris, but hopes of finding people alive were hampered by the agonizingly slow process of getting heavy equipment to the scene.

"The sun is starting to set here and the temperatures are dropping," said Giovanni Bianchi, a commander with Italy's civil protection. "The worry is that if there's a survivor we haven't found yet, they could risk freezing."

As the recovery effort dragged on and no sounds were heard from the pile of snow and rubble, Abruzzo Alpine rescuer Antonio Crocetta told the Italian news agency ANSA that "there are many dead."

The Hotel Rigopiano in the town of Farindola was ripped from its foundation and almost completely covered by a wall of snow and debris up to 35 feet tall, triggered by a series of earthquakes that shook the region Wednesday.

Heavy snowfall kept ambulances from approaching within 5 miles of the property. Some rescue workers arrived by foot, snowmobile and helicopter, local media reported.

Workers were able to access parts of the structure and documented hallways crammed with snow, ice and debris, along with the remnants of festive decorations.

One rescue worker who spoke on local TV station RAI said there was no sign of life in the decimated hotel. Antonio Di Marco, president of the provincial government, said on social media that two people were found alive.

One of them, Giampaolo Parete, a 38-year-old tourist, said he was saved because he left the hotel to retrieve something from his car parked outside. His wife and two children were inside the building, he said.

Premier Paolo Gentiloni urged authorities to redouble rescue efforts as he sought to deflect criticism. He told reporters Thursday that the priority is to reach all isolated towns and hamlets buried under snowfall for days before being jolted by the powerful quakes Wednesday.

Residents have been complaining of being left without electricity because of what Gentiloni called a “record snowfall.” Criticism has also come in about the response time to reach the buried hotel.

"We have been abandoned by everyone!” marveled one resident from the province of Teramo, Daiana Nguyen, on Sky TG24. “They talk about sending in the army: Thirty to 40 men came with shovels. We need heavy machinery.”

Nguyen said people have been stuck in their homes for days.

“Help, we’re dying of cold,” one couple wrote rescuers, according to the ANSA news agency. Another man, identified by news reports as Fabio Salzetta, sent a text message saying he escaped with a maintenance worker, but that others were trapped inside.

Corriere della Sera quoted the message as saying: “Some walls were knocked down.” And: “I’m outside with a maintenance worker but you can’t see anything of the hotel, there’s only a wall of snow in front of me.”

Wednesday’s earthquakes did not directly impact Farindola, but the temblors apparently unsettled snow on the slopes of the majestic Gran Sasso, a 9,554-foot-tall peak that dominates the region.

Because of its proximity to Rome, Italy’s capital and largest city, the area around the Gran Sasso is popular with tourists on day trips or overnight excursions.

The weather in the area had been particularly good for skiing in recent days — cold and crisp with heavy snowfall. Before the avalanche, staff members at the four-star hotel tweeted: “A dream Tuesday at Rigopiano … the snow is giving us a spectacular panorama.”

Gilberto Petrucci, municipal assessor for the nearby town of Penne, said the entire region is suffering.

“We’re on our knees in the communities around here, we can’t take much more,” Petrucci said. He added that heavy snow has isolated Penne’s 13,000 residents from other cities.

Authorities in the area closed schools and most non-essential business until at least Monday in the wake of the earthquakes and the avalanche. Freezing temperatures and snowfall are forecast until the weekend.

Wednesday’s earthquakes — at least a dozen that measured between magnitude 5.1 and 5.7 — were the third round of temblors in Abruzzo in five months. The region is still recovering from a series of earthquakes in August that killed more than 200 people. In Amatrice, close to the epicenter of the latest quakes, the Renaissance-era bell tower at the church of Sant-Agostino collapsed after being severely damaged in last year’s disaster.

The latest quakes left several hundred people homeless and cut electricity to more than 100,000 homes in the region.</s>An avalanche hit a popular mountain hotel in central Italy after a series of strong earthquakes had rattled the area, and up to 30 people might be buried under the snow, officials said on Wednesday.

“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 reporters.

Other officials said it was too early to say if anyone might have died, with the rescue operation hampered by up to 5 metres (16.4 ft) of snow which has fallen on the Gran Sasso mountain range in the central Abruzzo region in recent days.

The avalanche collapsed part of the four-storey hotel, which is some 1,200 metres (4,000 ft) above sea level, and moved it some 10 metres (30 ft) according to media reports.

A wall of snow and debris hit the hotel on Wednesday evening, just hours after four strong earthquakes had shaken central Italy, sparking fears about possible avalanches.

Two men who were outside the building at the time of the disaster and raised the alarm.

“I am alive because I went to get something from my car,” one of the two, Giampiero Parete, told medical staff, according to la Repubblica website.

Blocked roads in the area meant the first rescuers only arrived at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT) after they had skied through a heavy snow storm to reach the site. After dawn broke, emergency services sent in helicopters.

“We’re dropping our rescue units down by helicopter and they are starting to dig,” said Luca Cari, spokesman for the national fire brigades.

A base camp for rescue workers was set up in the town of Penne, some 10 km (6 miles) away from the Rigopiano hotel, which was a popular 4-star spa resort with 43 rooms.

An aerial shot of the hotel released by the fire brigade showed just the last floor and the roof visible above a thick blanket of snow.

Initial television pictures showed that mounds of snow and debris had smashed through a hotel wall into the lobby.

Italian media had earlier reported that “many dead” had been found inside the hotel. However officials in the area denied the report.</s>An avalanche in central Italy has buried a ski resort, leaving 30 people missing and prompting a frantic rescue effort.

The avalanche appeared to be triggered by four earthquakes that shook the Abruzzo region on Wednesday, says Christopher Livesay, reporting for NPR from Rome. The disaster struck in the same mountainous region where a powerful earthquake last summer killed nearly 300 people.

"The wall of snow blasted the Hotel Rigopiano ski resort as roughly 30 guests and employees slept," Livesay reports. "The civil protection agency told Italian news agency ANSA that there were 'many dead' beneath the snow and rubble, in the central Italian town of Farindola.

"Narrow mountain roads and icy weather are hampering rescue efforts," he says.

The first rescuers to reach the hotel traveled on skis, ANSA reports, while more teams followed by helicopter.

Footage of the hotel's interior showed hallways filled with snow, skylights cracking beneath the weight of the snow above and walls that had been smashed through by the force of the avalanche.

Italian media are reporting that some guests at the Hotel Rigopiano managed to send text messages after the avalanche trapped them inside the hotel.

One message, according to local media reports, came from a couple who said, "Help, we're dying of cold."

One survivor, according to ANSA, told rescuers he was spared by the avalanche because he stepped outside to get something from his car, but that his wife and children were trapped inside.

The AP notes that there are other rescue efforts active in the region, which "has been pummeled by more than a meter (three feet) of snow in recent days":



"[Storms] have knocked out power and phone lines and blocked roads, isolating towns and hamlets. " 'We have been abandoned by everyone!' marveled one resident from the province of Teramo, Daiana Nguyen, on Sky TG24. 'They talk about sending in the army: Thirty to 40 men came with shovels. We need heavy machinery.' "Nguyen said people have been stuck in their homes for days."



Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has urged the authorities to "multiply their efforts" and work to reach trapped people — both in the hotel and in the neighboring hamlets — as quickly as possible.</s>Hopes of finding survivors dwindled on Thursday more than 24 hours after an avalanche struck a luxury mountain hotel in Italy burying up to 30 people under tonnes of snow and debris.

The Civil Protection department said just two bodies had been recovered but its chief said the search for victims and possible survivors would continue through the night.

"There is always hope, if there were no hope the rescuers wouldn't give everything they've got," Fabrizio Curcio told reporters. He said his teams would "continue to do everything possible during the night," even though conditions were far more difficult than in daytime.

The disaster struck hours after four earthquakes with a magnitude above 5 hit central Italy.

Titti Postiglione, head of the department's emergency office, said more snow could fall from peaks in the Gran Sasso mountain range in the central Abruzzo region because the temperature was rising, while further quakes were possible.

"This is an enormously complex rescue operation," she said.

The gabled peaks of parts of the roof and a row of windows were the only sections of the four-storey Hotel Rigopiano visible after the wall of snow smashed into the four-star spa resort on Wednesday evening.

"This is a tragedy of enormous proportions," said Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin.

Local authorities said about 30 people had been in the building at the time, including two children. The only survivors found were two men who had been outside when the disaster struck.

"The hotel is almost completely destroyed. We've called out but we've heard no replies, no voices," said Antonio Crocetta, a member of the Alpine Rescue squad.

"We're digging and looking for people," he told Reuters by phone from the isolated location.

Rescue workers entered what appeared to be a lobby decorated with oil paintings and plants, where a landslide had torn through a wall, television footage showed.

Mattresses and furniture were spotted dozens of meters (yards) away and sniffer dogs were helping with the search.

"I am alive because I went to get something from my car," Giampiero Parete told medical staff. Italian media said he had been on holiday with his wife and two children, who are missing.

Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni called for national unity, saying Italy was caught in an "unprecedented vice" of earthquakes and heavy snows.

The rescue operation was hampered by deep snow which has fallen on the Gran Sasso in recent days. Drifts made snow as deep as five meters (16 feet) in some places and snow ploughs struggled to cut a path up winding mountain roads.

The first rescuers arrived at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT) after having to ski through a blizzard to reach the site. After dawn broke, emergency services sent in helicopters.

A base camp for rescue workers was set up in the town of Penne, some 10 km (6 miles) away, where ambulances waited.

The avalanche shunted the 43-room hotel, which is 1,200 meters (4,000 ft) above sea level, about 10 meters down the hill, according to media reports.

Italian media said guests at the hotel had checked out and were waiting for a snow plough to arrive to open up the road and let them down the mountain when the avalanche struck.
An Italian rescue official says a number of people have been killed by an avalanche, possibly connected to Wednesday's earthquakes, that buried a ski resort on a slope of the Gran Sasso mountain in Italy's Abruzzo region. About 30 guests and staff were at the hotel. The only survivors are two men who had been outside when the disaster struck.