Survivors Rescued from Italian Hotel Following Avalanche

On Friday, rescue workers searching through the remains of a hotel in Italy that was crushed and buried by an avalanche saved a woman and a child. There are believed to be at least six other survivors that teams are trying to rescue.

According to NBCNews.com, videos has circulated throughout the Italian media of emergency workers standing around a hole in the snow before a child is lifted to safety after being trapped inside the remains of the hotel for 40 hours. A short time later, a woman was also pulled out of the hole but pointed back into the destroyed structure while speaking frantically to search crews.

Both the child and woman rescued from the avalanche were conscious and there were no outward indications of serious injuries. They became trapped in the kitchen of the Hotel Rigopiano in Farindola, Italy, Wednesday afternoon when an earthquake in the region is believed to have caused the massive avalanche which destroyed much of the building and left in under as much as 16 feet of snow.

Helicopters carrying equipment and medical personnel arrived at the scene Friday morning to help rescue teams find survivors. The retrieval of the child and woman gave officials hope that they will be able to find more despite the unfavorable elements.

After the avalanche, up to 30 people were reported missing—including several children—and rescuers have found four people alive and two dead bodies thus far. Only the spa and swimming areas of the Hotel Rigopiano were not destroyed by the natural disaster.

Authorities in Italy have launched an investigation into the emergency response to the avalanche after it took 11 hours for the first rescue teams to arrive at the hotel. Adverse weather conditions also reportedly contributed to the slow response time.

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