Story highlights
Five people still considered missing after avalanche wrecked central Italian hotel
Judicial inquiries will look into "delays and responsibilities," Prime Minister says
The death toll from the avalanche that wrecked Hotel Rigopiano in Italy’s Abruzzo region is now 24, according to the Italian wire service ANSA.
Firefighters recovered six more bodies from the site of the destroyed hotel, lowering the number of people missing after the disaster to five.
Eleven people survived the disaster, nine of whom were plucked from the hotel ruins by rescue teams, ANSA reported.
Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni lauded Italy’s emergency and rescue teams, calling them “exemplary citizens” during an address to the country’s Senate on Wednesday, the wire service reported.
“The gratitude to the 11,000 people who have intervened to save lives must be strong and unanimous,” he was quoted as saying.
Wednesday’s death toll update came a day after news reports emerged that the central Italian hotel’s director urgently called for assistance just hours before the avalanche came rushing down the mountain last week.
In an email to local officials, the director said guests were “terrified,” roads were blocked due to heavy snow and phones were out of service.
Prosecutors are examining his call for help.
“Should there have been delays and responsibilities, they will be brought to light by judicial inquiries,” Gentiloni told the Senate on Wednesday, according to ANSA. “The government does not fear the truth, which is needed to do better and not to poison the wells.”
‘We ask you to intervene’
Avalanche buries Italian hotel
The four-star hotel at the foot of the Gran Sasso mountain about 135 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of Rome was buried in snow January 18 after a series of earthquakes in the region earlier in the day.
Bruno Di Tommaso, director of the hotel, sent an email to provincial authorities in Pescara – the main town in the area – plus the local police and mayor of nearby Farindola after 2 p.m. January 18, ANSA reported.
Di Tommaso was not at the hotel at the time, but he described a “worrisome” situation: The hotel had been inundated with 2 meters (6.5 feet) of snow, phones were down, roads were blocked, the hotel was down to about a day’s worth of diesel to fuel its generator and guests were sleeping in cars because they were afraid to come inside after the quake.
“Aware of the general difficulties, we ask you to intervene,” Di Tommaso wrote.
The avalanche hit later, around 4.30 p.m.
Rescue efforts under extreme conditions
Days after the disaster, rescuers continue to hold out hope of finding more survivors.
Three sheepdog puppies were discovered alive under the rubble Monday, sparking renewed optimism.
A video released by Italy’s fire and rescue service Tuesday showed rescue efforts under way amid extreme conditions.
Walter Milan, spokesman for the elite National Alpine Cliff and Cave Rescue Corps, was one of the first on the scene.
“In some ways the conditions make it harder now because of ice and the real risk of a new avalanche,” he told CNN Tuesday.
“Of course, there is still hope of finding someone alive in an air pocket. There will be hope until the last body is accounted for. If someone is sheltering in a room with food and water, they could easily survive.”
CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau and CNN’s Nicola Ruotolo also contributed to this report.
