Discovery of sheepdog pups raises hopes that some of the 22 people still missing after five days could be found alive

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Rescuers have recovered three puppies from under the rubble of an Italian mountain hotel that was hit by an avalanche five days ago, raising fresh hopes that some of the 22 people still missing could be found alive.



Firefighter Fabio Jerman said the discovery of the three shaggy white Abruzzo sheepdog pups meant there were still air pockets in the collapsed building – “an important sign of life, which gives us hope,” he said.

But as light began to fade, the body of a woman was recovered from the rubble, bringing the number of the dead to seven.

A new route is being dug into the rubble in a last-ditch effort to find more survivors, as questions mount as to whether the disaster could have been avoided.

“It’s a race against time, we know we need to go fast, but it’s not an easy working environment,” said Luca Cari, a fire service spokesman, as teams worked to reach the centre of the hotel where they believe the missing could be.

An email sent by the hotel to local authorities pleading for help hours before Wednesday’s avalanche has been widely shared online. Although it did not mention fears of an avalanche, it described the panic of guests trapped by snow as earthquakes shook the region.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Firefighters hold three puppies that were found alive in the rubble of the avalanche-hit hotel. Photograph: AP

Seven people are known to have died when the avalanche hit the four-star Hotel Rigopiano in Farindola on Wednesday.

Nine people pulled out alive on Friday described being trapped in tiny spaces, eating dirty snow in the pitch black to survive.



Burrowing through narrow holes in the snow and rubble, rescue workers have been painstakingly searching each room of the lodge.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The puppies a day before an avalanche buried the Rigopiano hotel. Photograph: AP

Late on Sunday rescuers began attempting to access the wreckage from another angle – a riskier enterprise that could trigger snowfalls but would get them more quickly to new search zones.

With shovels, drills and their bare hands, they were also working to recover the body of the sixth known victim.

Though the avalanche risk was lowered from four to three on a five-point scale, a special radar was installed on the slopes to warn rescue teams of any fresh slides, as snow and rain continued to fall on the area.

Investigators in the nearby city of Pescara have stepped up an investigation into the disaster, which could lead to manslaughter charges if prosecutors find the hotel should not have been built in that area or should have been evacuated.

The hotel opened in 1972 and was transformed 10 years ago into a four-star venue with a heated external swimming pool and sauna.

An investigation into the number of building permits awarded in the Gran Sasso national park was dropped in November.