FARINDOLA, ITALY — An avalanche triggered by a series of earthquakes in Italy on Wednesday destroyed a ski resort hotel in the Abruzzo area, burying up to 30 people inside.
Hotel Rigopiano is located in Farindola, about 100 km away from the town of Amatrice, which is near the location where four magnitude 5.2 earthquakes and stronger struck on Wednesday.
Local media Rai news reported that all hotel guests had checked out and gathered in the ground floor reception area to await evacuation after the temblors struck. About 30 people were at the hotel at the time when an avalanche came down and buried the hotel.
Giampaolo Parete, 38, a guest at the hotel, said he stepped out of the building to get medicine for his wife when the avalanche struck.
“As I walked into the hotel I heard noises and squeaks and I saw the mountain fall on the building. it also has overwhelmed me,” Parete told Rai News. He and a hotel maintenance staff worker reportedly were the only survivors found so far. Both people were outside the hotel when the avalanche hit.
All calls for help were reportedly made at around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, but the first rescue team didn’t reach the hotel until around 4 a.m. Thursday. Bodies have been pulled from the snow and authorities had not yet found been able to find any signs of life.
