8 Survivors found in Rigopiano hotel avalanche .

Search and rescue operation continues as two bodies from a hotel engulfed by an avalanche in central Italy has been removed.

17:45 20 January 2017

35 more people are being searched amidst multiple earthquakes that hindered rescue efforts in the rubble of the Rigopiano hotel.

 

According to reports, hotel guests have gathered on the ground floor of the hotel to await evacuation following the earthquakes. The avalanche struck on Wednesday with guests along with seven staff members believed to have been inside the four-star hotel spa. The avalanche brought the roof down and shifted the building 10m off its foundations.

 

Antonio Crocetta, a member of the Alpine rescue squad who was at the scene, said: "The hotel is almost completely destroyed,"

 

"We've called out but we've heard no replies, no voices. We're digging and looking for people."

 

Giampiero Parete, whose wife and two children are missing, said he had gone to get something from his car: "I was covered by the snow but I managed to get out. The car was not submerged and I waited for the rescuers to arrive."

 

Based on the list of missing guests, the majority of people stuck in the collapsed hotel are mostly Italians but also include a Swiss national and a Romanian. Three are children below the age of 10 and a 60-year-old man.