PENNE, Italy (Reuters) — Rescue workers at a base camp in Penne, some 10 km (6 miles) away from a mountain hotel buried by an avalanche, prepared to continue their search efforts on Friday (January 20) morning.
Rescuers dug all night in deep snow and debris looking for some 30 missing people who were staying in the luxury hotel in central Italy when an avalanche struck almost two days ago.
Officials have confirmed finding two bodies, while Italian media said two more were located overnight. The only survivors so far are two men who were outside the hotel when the avalanche hit.
Hopes of finding survivors are dwindling.
The disaster struck in the late afternoon on Wednesday (January 18) amid a driving snowstorm, just hours after four earthquakes with a magnitude above 5 rattled central Italy.
Fire brigade officials and local authorities said more than 30 people, including four children, had been in the building when the avalanche slammed into it, reducing much of it to rubble and spreading debris for 500 metres (1,600 feet) across the valley floor.
The government will meet on Friday morning and is expected to declare a state of emergency.
An investigation into the tragedy has been opened by a court in Pescara, with some saying the emergency response was slow.
The first rescuers arrived amid a snow storm on skis early on Thursday (January 19) morning, some 11 hours after the avalanche hit.