Rigopiano avalanche: Ten found alive in Italy hotel after two days

Rescuers in central Italy have found 10 survivors after an avalanche buried a mountain hotel - and six have been pulled out so far.
Video showed two people - a mother and her son - being helped out by cheering rescuers, through a hole in the snow.
The avalanche struck the Rigopiano hotel, in the Abruzzo region, on Wednesday after several earthquakes.
At least four people died and about 20 are still missing. Deep snow blocking the access road hampered the rescue.

A woman told the BBC that three of her relatives were among those rescued on Friday.
Their father - who was already being treated at the local hospital - was taken to see them, she said.
"His wife is from Romania, she is 43 years old - her daughter just turned six years old, and the boy is eight," said the woman, who asked not to be identified.
"They were on holiday and just getting ready to leave when the avalanche came."
She said all but the young girl had been released from hospital after treatment.


See extent of avalanche destruction

After avalanche

After avalanche

Hotel in summer

Hotel in summer




The survivors reportedly took refuge beneath a collapsed portion of ceiling, where they were able to light a fire to keep warm.
Wednesday's earthquakes included four stronger than magnitude 5, in a region already struggling with heavy snowfall which buried phone lines and took out power cables.

A red rescue helicopter is seen landing next to workers in high-vis snow gearImage copyright
Image captionHelicopters were called to the scene when the survivors were discovered

The BBC's James Reynolds, in the nearby town of Penne, said news of the rescue had led to an outpouring of emotion.
"In one village, a young woman - who's worked at the collapsed hotel - dropped to her knees and burst into tears when she heard the news," he said.

Some reports suggest the guests had gathered on the ground floor of the hotel to await evacuation following the earthquakes.
But the avalanche completely buried the hotel at about 17:00 (16:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
An almost completely white snowscape is broken only by a few building beams poking from a large snow mound, and a handful of figures standing nearby









Image copyright
Image captionThe hotel was completely buried for hours before rescue teams reached the scene

The force of the snow partially brought down the roof and, according to some reports, shifted the building 10m (11 yards) off its foundations.
Rescuers, who were forced to ski and shovel their way towards the site of the avalanche, were reportedly only dispatched hours later.
One survivor, who had left the hotel for his car, telephoned his boss, a man named Quintino Marcella, just after 17:30.
Mr Marcella said he immediately contacted the authorities, but they did not initially believe him. He said he kept calling for two hours before being told help was on the way.
The first rescue team reached the hotel by 04:30 on Thursday, after a night of freezing temperatures.

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