A series of earthquakes has triggered an avalanche in central Italy has buried the Hotel Rigopiano, trapping at least 30 people inside, including children, The Washington Post reports. Rescuers and sniffer dogs are working to recover possible survivors or bodies.
According to The Local it, at least three bodies have been recovered from the area. Two survivors, who were outside the hotel at the time of the avalanche, were rescued. The size of the avalanche, which moved the entire hotel by 10 meters, is making rescue efforts difficult.
Some guests of the hotel were able to send text messages after the avalanche trapped them inside, NPR reports. Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has urged authorities to “multiply their efforts” to reach trapped people in the hotel and in neighboring hamlets.
The hotel is near the area hit by a series of earthquakes last summer that damaged several popular tourist towns, including Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto, and killed over 240 people. Several historic buildings were also destroyed in that disaster, as well as the Hotel Roma in Amatrice.
Keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for further updates on this developing story.