Searches are still underway to save the people buried under the rubble of theRigopiano hotel, in Farindola in the province of Pescara. The tree was hit by an avalanche unleashed by the new earthquakes that struck central Italy yesterday.
Up until now, information on the situation remains fairly patchy. One man is known to have been pulled out of his life this morning, while two people were rescued. They are Giampiero Parete and Fabio Salzetta, who were outside the structure at the time of the accident and saw the avalanche coming, taking shelter in their car.
A little while ago, more bad news: two more bodies were extracted, while another was located.
The picture, however, is likely to deteriorate rapidly in the next few hours. "There are many dead," said Antonio Crocetta, one of the heads of the Abruzzo Alpine Rescue who rushed on skis along with others. "We call out loud but no one answers," explained the rescuers. At the time of the impact with the avalanche, the hotel housed between 20 and 30 people. Furthermore, rescue operations are made particularly difficult by the collapse of the structure and the presence of an enormous amount of snow.
In any case, at the moment, the Pescara prefecture is keeping the victims confidential: “I don't want to give figures on the victims. The family members must first be notified, I first want to be sure of the situation ”, clarified the prefect Francesco Provolo. The Pescara prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into manslaughter.
These are the most recent images documenting the collapse inside the structure:
Below are the images shot during the night that document the prohibitive conditions in which the rescuers had to move on skis and managed to reach the hotel after a walk of almost 5 hours:
