Story highlights Eleven people survived, with nine pulled from beneath the snow and wreckage

The final death toll from the avalanche stands at 29

Rome (CNN) 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.

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