Found alive 10 people at the Hotel "Rigopiano" in Farindola on the Gran Sasso, swept away by an avalanche of immense proportions. Among them, five children. The wife and son of Giampiero Parete, the man who raised the alarm, were extracted. Among the survivors also Sebastiano Di Carlo, his wife Nadia and their ten-year-old son Edoardo. Rescuers are in contact with other people still under the rubble, including a woman and two children.
The men involved in the rescue worked all night, in extreme conditions, in search of the thirty missing persons who are still missing. With temperatures well below zero, the rescuers worked with the help of photocells but at a reduced pace: in fact, there are not the safety conditions necessary to operate massively and, therefore, it was preferred to reduce the number of men involved .
During the night, the turbines and bulldozers also continued their work to clear the road up to the hotel and allow for better circulation of emergency vehicles. Two bodies have been pulled from the rubble since yesterday. The prosecutor has opened a manslaughter investigation.
The conditions of the rescue, as mentioned, are particularly extreme: “Here we combine two different scenarios: the avalanche, which we always face, and a natural catastrophe such as a mini earthquake. I have never seen anything like it,” said Alpine Rescue spokesman Walter Milan.
“At work – explains Milan – there are over sixty people among the various bodies. New vehicles will arrive and we will bring the teams with helicopters. Gradually, mechanical means will arrive that have to work together with the men, first an inspection is made in the snow and then everything is removed".
