Italy avalanche: Hotel search ends with 29 dead, 11 rescued

Rescuers are no longer searching for anyone else in the wreckage of a hotel engulfed by an avalanche last week, Italy’s Civil Protection Department said Thursday, leaving the final death toll at 29.

Confirmation that the arduous rescue and recovery operation was over came shortly after Italy’s national fire brigade tweeted that the last two bodies had been found.

Eleven people were rescued from the Hotel Rigopiano, nine of them pulled from air pockets in the snow-covered wreckage in the days after the avalanche. The other two were found sheltering in a car outside the hotel in the hours after the snow came crashing down.

At least four children were among those plucked alive from the ruined building.

Rescuers had braved difficult weather conditions and the risk of further avalanches as they sought to find more survivors.

The coffin of avalanche victim Alessandro Giancaterino is carried to his funeral service in Farindola, central Italy, on Tuesday, January 24. A series of earthquakes that struck on January 18 caused an avalanche at the foot of Gran Sasso mountain in central Italy, about 135 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of Rome, burying guests and staff of Hotel Rigopiano, a local mountain resort.

Emergency crew members carry three puppies that were dug out from under the snow covering Hotel Rigopiano on Monday, January 23. Rescuers cheered the discovery of the dogs, whose survival brings hope for those people who are still missing.

Italian rescuers and volunteers continue a rescue operation on Sunday, January 22 at the site of the avalanche that inundated Hotel Rigapiano.

Migrants volunteering with the Italian Red Cross stand ready at the avalanche emergency operations center at Penna, central Italy, on Saturday, January 21.

A rescuer rests at a sports complex turned emergency coordination center in Penne on January 21.

One of three children rescued from the avalanche zone is transported to a hospital in Pescara, on Friday, January 20.

Another of the three children rescued on Friday is carried by rescuers to the hospital in Pescara.

An aerial view shows the roof and top floor of the three-story Hotel Rigopiano buried in snow after the avalanche struck at the foot of Gran Sasso mountain in central Italy on Thursday, January 19.

Rescuers stand by two cars submerged in snow as they work in front of the Rigopiano Hotel on January 19.

A rescuer clears snow in front of the hotel.

Rescue workers were met with an eerie silence Thursday when they reached Hotel Rigapiano, a four-star spa hotel struck by an avalanche.

Rescuers are dropped by helicopter near the site of the avalanche. Weather conditions in the region made it difficult to access the area by road.

Snow and rubble fill a hallway inside Hotel Rigopiano. The area is a popular ski destination for Italian tourists.

Italian emergency crews operate at the site of the avalanche on January 19. Central Italy was hit by more than 10 earthquakes on Wednesday, January 18, four of them measuring magnitude 5 or above, according to the US Geological Survey.

Damage from the avalanche is seen in an image taken from video shot by rescuers inside Hotel Rigopiano.

Rescuers dig for avalanche survivors after skiing several kilometers through blizzard conditions to reach the hotel, on January 19.

Avalanche buries Italian hotel

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The four-star spa 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 that day.

News reports emerged Tuesday that the hotel’s director urgently called for assistance just hours before the avalanche came rushing down the mountain.

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.

Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni told the Senate on Wednesday that any delays or lapses in the response would be investigated, Italian news agency ANSA reported. He also praised the efforts of more than 11,000 people who helped in rescue efforts across the region following the massive snowfall and earthquakes.

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Puppies rescued from avalanche site

00:53 - Source: CNN

Fire brigade spokesman Luca Cari told CNN on Saturday that all known survivors had been rescued from the hotel site but efforts continued to find those still missing and any other air pockets where they might be sheltering.

Three sheepdog puppies were discovered alive under the rubble Monday, which sparked renewed optimism at the time.

CNN’s Hada Messia reported from Rome, and Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London. CNN’s Simon Cullen, Barbie Latza Nadeau and John Fiegener contributed to this report.