Avalanche buries hotel in central Italy

A helicopter approaches the area in Rigopiano, central Italy, where a hotel was buried under an avalanche. Rescue workers were searching for survivors who had been buried under the debris.

(Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press)

Jan. 19, 2017 7:32 AM PT

Crews search for survivors at a four-star hotel and spa that was struck by an avalanche in a quake-riddled region of central Italy.

Rescuers search for survivors in front of the Hotel Rigopiano after it was engulfed by a powerful avalanche.

(AFP/Getty Images)

Rescuers remove snow on a road to the village of Penne after an avalanche engulfed a mountain hotel in earthquake-ravaged central Italy on Jan. 19, 2017.

(Filippo Monteforte / AFP/Getty Images)

Italian rescuers gather in the town of Farindola as they make their way to the site of an avalanche that engulfed the Hotel Rigopiano in earthquake-ravaged central Italy on Jan. 20, 2017.

(FILIPPO MONTEFORTE / AFP/Getty Images)

A still image grabbed from a video shows the rescue operations of guests at the Hotel Rigopiano, which was hit by a massive avalanche in Farindola, Italy, on Jan. 20, 2017.

(ITALIAN FIRE DEPARTMENT HANDOUT / EPA)