Italian authorities say about 30 people are missing after an avalanche buried a three-story hotel in the region of Abruzzo.
- Rescuers had to use skis to reach Hotel Rigopiano
- Rescuers find just 2 people alive; no other signs of life
The avalanche is a result of the three large earthquakes that hit Central Italy early Wednesday.
Hotel Rigopiano was in the earthquake-hit zone.
Giampiero Parete, a chef vacationing at the hotel, called his boss when the avalanche struck, begging for him to mobilize rescue crews because his wife Adriana and two children, Ludovica and Gianfilippo, were trapped inside, employer Quintino Marcella told The Associated Press.
Parete had left briefly to get some medicine for his wife, and survived as a result.
"He said the hotel was submerged and to call rescue crews," Marcella said. He said he phoned police and the Pescara prefect's office, but that no one believed him. "The prefect's office said it wasn't true, because everything was OK at the hotel."
Marcella said he insisted, and called other emergency numbers until someone finally took him seriously and mobilized a rescue, starting at 8 p.m., more than two hours later.
When rescuers on skis arrived in the early morning hours of Thursday, they found just two people alive: Parete and another guest, Fabio Salzetta. There were no other signs of life, according to a video of the interior shot by rescue crews.
Civil protection authorities said that 30 people were missing. ANSA quoted a rescuer as saying that there were fatalities, but details weren't immediately available. Just one body was reported removed from the hotel by late morning Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.