Avalanche destroys Italian hotel, up to 30 feared dead under snow

PENNE, Italy (Reuters) - A huge avalanche swallowed up a luxury mountain hotel in central Italy after a series of strong earthquakes rocked the area, burying up to 30 people under tonnes of snow and debris, officials said on Thursday

More than 24 hours after the avalanche hit, the Civil Protection department said just two bodies had been recovered. Rescue workers were continuing their search for other victims or possible survivors as night fell.

Titti Postiglione, head of the department's emergency office, said more avalanches were possible in the Gran Sasso mountain range in the central Abruzzo region because the temperature was rising, while further quakes were also possible.

"This is an enormously complex rescue operation," she said.

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