FLORENCE, ITALY – Up to 30 people are feared dead after an Italian Hotel Rigopiano (Gran Sasso) was covered by an avalanche following an earthquake. Two people have been rescued.
The avalanche followed a series of strong earthquakes in central Italy on Wednesday. Firefighters who arrived at the Hotel Rigopiano said Thursday that the situation is dramatic, the hotel has been swept away, only a little piece remained upright.
Firefighters are reaching the scene with a helicopter and a track vehicle that can carry up to eight people. The first people to reach the hotel were personnel from the Alpine Rescue who got there with skis.
Firefighters freed residents of many villages isolated by snow and hit by the earthquake these days.
The Hotel Rigopiano is located in Abruzzo’s Gran Sasso National Park. In the fall of 2009 the Hotel has had among its guests George Clooney. His presence at the time was linked to the making of the film ‘ The American ‘, filmed between Sweden and Italy.
A deadly quake in August 2016 killed nearly 300, while no one died in the strong aftershocks in October largely because population centers had already been evacuated.
In the meantime, the entire region has been hit by cold weather and buffeted by snowstorms, piling more suffering on to the hard-hit population. People left homeless by the earlier quakes had been moved to hotels in the region, but it wasn’t immediately clear who was staying at Hotel Rigopiano, which is located in the Gran Sasso National Park.
Tuscan teams of civil defense started today January 19, 2017, at 5.30. The aid will be used to provide service by shoveling snow in areas affected by the earthquake, in the province of Macerata.
