An avalanche has buried a mountain hotel in the earthquake-hit region of Abruzzo, central Italy, with up to 30 people feared missing under the snow.

 
The civil protection agency said on Thursday morning that they were working to get rescue vehicles to the Hotel Rigopiano through roads covered in snow, joining initial rescue efforts overnight by alpine rescue teams.

 
The ANSA news agency quoted a rescuer as saying that there were fatalities. Rescuers were quoted as saying they have been calling out to survivors but no one has responded. Separate media reports suggest that two people have been rescued.

 
The avalanche covered the four-star spa hotel in the central region of Abruzzo on Wednesday night.

The hotel is about 45 kilometers (30 miles) from the coastal city of Pescara. Earthquakes hit the region on Wednesday, including one with a 5.7 magnitude.

 
Mountain rescue teams reached the hotel by skis around 4am (0300 GMT), SKY TG24 reported.

 
Video footage shows rescuers with shovels digging through a wall of snow, and at least one man being led through the cleared path. An ambulance was blocked several kilometers from the hotel, according to SKY.

In the meantime, the entire region has been hit by cold weather and buffeted by snowstorms, piling more suffering on to the hard-hit population.

 
People left homeless by the earlier quakes had been moved to hotels in the region, but it wasn’t immediately clear who was staying at Hotel Rigopiano, which is located in the Gran Sasso National Park.

Before and after…

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