Hotel Rigopiano: Hopes fade for survivors of Italian avalanche

Italian search and rescue teams are engaged in a desperate race against time to free people trapped inside a remote hotel hit by an avalanche.

The four-star Hotel Rigopiano was almost completely covered by the deluge late on Wednesday night in the remote, mountainous region.

Rescuers had to use skis to reach the scene and gaining access since has proved extremely difficult for rescuers.

Two bodies have been recovered so far, but the search effort has been hampered by heavy snowfall and fears that the building would collapse.

This region of Italy can be difficult to reach in good weather, let alone the kind of snowy conditions they have have faced in recent weeks.

Many roads remain blocked by snow and hotels in the area have been completely booked by panic-stricken locals who fear there are more aftershocks to come.

Italy's prime minister Paolo Gentiloni has spoken to those leading the rescue operation and with the whole country watching on, he knows just how important the coming hours are.

:: 'Help we are dying' - Texts from inside the avalanche-hit hotel in Italy

The hotel had 22 paying guests on Wednesday night and seven members of staff working, but locals say there were at least 35 people in there when the landslide came.

Hopes of finding any survivors at the hotel are dwindling, with rescuers reporting no signs of life as they search for the estimated 30 people believed to have been trapped inside.

Antonio Crocetta, a member of the Alpine Rescue squad, told Reuters: "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."

Rescuers will "continue to do everything possible during the night" despite the difficult conditions, according to the Civil Protection department's chief Fabrizio Curcio.

He said: "There is always hope.

"If there was no hope, the rescuers wouldn't give everything they've got."

Rescuers had to ski through a blizzard to reach the site and have now set up a base camp in the town of Penne, about six miles away.

Four powerful earthquakes struck the region on Wednesday but it is unclear whether any of these triggered the avalanche just hours later.

The 300-metre wide snow slide uprooted trees and wiped out parts of the four-storey hotel, trapping dozens of people, including two children.

There were two survivors - men who had been outside when disaster struck.

Survivor Giampaolo Parete reportedly told doctors he escaped the avalanche because he left the hotel to fetch something from his car, but his wife and two children were still inside.

The 38-year-old chef called his boss, restaurant owner Quintino Marcella, for help, saying: "The hotel isn't there anymore. It's disappeared. It's buried."

Mr Marcella criticised the response, claiming no one took him seriously when he alerted authorities.