Over 20 Feared Trapped After Avalanche Buries Hotel in Italy

The avalanche follows multiple earthquakes on Wednesday.

ByABC News
January 19, 2017, 7:17 AM

— -- An avalanche buried a mountain hotel in an earthquake-hit region of central Italy after a series of earthquakes shook the area Wednesday.

Rescuers are struggling to get their emergency vehicles through the snow to Hotel Rigopiano on the Gran Sasso mountain, about 30 miles from the coastal city of Pescara.

Rescuers on skis arrived overnight and have saved two people so far, but more than 20 people are believed to be trapped under rubble and snow. Rescuers at the site said they were not able to hear any voices.

A helicopter and rescue workers en route to Hotel Rigopiano after it was hit by an avalanche in Farindola (Pescara), Abruzzo region, Jan. 19, 2017.

Of the two rescued, one is helping rescuers at the scene, while the other was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for hypothermia.

Authorities said that as of this morning, there have been no responses from inside the hotel to phone and text messages.

The hotel partially collapsed and was buried under snow following Wednesday's multiple quakes.

The Italian prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, has arrived at the base camp where the rescue is being coordinated and is expected to hold a press conference later this morning.

Snow and severe weather conditions continue to hamper rescue operations throughout the stricken regions of central Italy. Many households still without power -- 98,000 in the Abruzzo region and 14,000 in the Marche region. At least one person died in Teramo and another is missing in the Aquila area after the quakes.

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