PENNE – A total of 24 victims , 13 men and 11 women, have been pulled out from underneath the rubble of the avalanche-stricken ‘Rigiopiano’ hotel in the rugged Abruzzo mountains, leaving only five still missing, rescuers said Wednesday.

 So far nine survivors, including four children, have been pulled out from underneath the layers of snow and hotel rubble, after being stuck for almost 48 hours under the ruins, and are all were said to be in good condition. Three puppies were also found alive Monday.

 A team of 200 rescue workers continue their search throughout day and night in the ever-fading hope of finding more survivors in some “air pocket” amongst the snow and rubble.

 Recent rainfall made the huge mass of snow, detritus and trees even heavier. The avalanche risk is “high” -- measured at four on a scale of one to five. Due to this, whoever is present in the rescue operation has to wear an instrument that allows them to be located under snow, and must be registered before being allowed on scene.

 “Those who are working in these conditions work as if there are living people to save. This hope is always present, because these events can have led to very extraordinary situations,” said the head of the Civil Protection Service Fabrizio Curcio.

 The survivors were taken to hospital via helicopter. "They are extremely happy and without words," said one of the rescuers.

 An email surfaced Monday, which the hotel manager Bruno Di Tommaso of ‘Rigopiano’ had sent to authorities Wednesday before the avalanche happened, showing that the Prefecture knew about the hotel staff and guests’ fears about the worsening situation a long time before they sent people.

 “We communicate to you that due to the latest events the situation has become worrying…. Aware of the current difficulties, we are asking for an intervention,” reads the email that was sent the hotel manager at 7 a.m. Wednesday last week.

 The person at the prefecture to have rejected in an abrupt manner Quintino Marcella’s call for help for his friend Giampiero Parete -- a survivor -- has been identified. It was not any old worker but a professional trained to be in charge of an emergency of this very kind.

 “This story again? We have checked and have heard from the hotel, this news has been proved wrong,” the professional at the Civil Protection Service activated by Pescara’s prefecture allegedly said.

 An investigation has been opened into involuntary manslaughter by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

 “If mistakes were made they will be rectified. If there is anything else, it will be looked into, each person will assume their own responsibilities. But I cannot go into who is guilty or not, there is an investigation underway and it is right to respect the investigative organisations,” said Francesco Provolo, Pescara’s prefetto.

 “We have been working in difficult conditions in search of survivors. The sniffer dogs often catch smells but we have to dig over four or five metres before arriving at the ground,” said Matteo Gasparini, the person in charge of the Valdossola Alpine Rescue Service.

 “This stuff is unbelievable, it was shocking, I’ve never seen anything of the sort. I fear that there is little hope to find them alive,” said Cristian Labanti, the Emilian Alpine Rescue worker on scene.

 The hotel manager Bruno Di Tommaso said “I had gone to coordinate the rescue snow-clearing operations from Pescara, then at 5 p.m. the situation worsened. I was not there for that. I had heard from the resort manager at 4 p.m., who was worried due to the huge amounts of snow.”

 Di Tommaso said that at the moment of the avalanche, there were 11 hotel workers inside and 24 guests. “All the staff had grouped together in the bar, while the guests were in the hall as they were getting ready to leave,” he said.

 Rescue workers initially made their way on skis to attempt to rescue holidaymakers, including small children, trapped in a hotel that was "swept away" Thursday at the ski resort of Gran Sasso hit by a huge avalanche caused by earthquake tremors rocking central Italy.

 Sniffer dogs that arrived at the scene were unable to find anyone immediately in the wreckage of the three-storey spa hotel, civil defence sources said.

 Part of the hotel was covered with snow after violent earth tremors. Alpine rescue teams set out on skis for the remote hotel after some guests sent text messages asking for help. Two people found by the rescuers outside the hotel were taken to hospital by helicopter. Witnesses say it was an avalanche “of incredible force.”

 A snowstorm hampered efforts to reach the scene, leaving emergency vehicles stuck 9km away from the hotel. The first rescue services arrived on skis to the scene, eventually aided by firefighters flying in by helicopter.

 As many as 80 earthquake tremors were measured in central Italy last week at magnitude 2 to 3.5 compared to the four other violent tremors measured at 5.2 to 5.6 on the Richter scale, seismologists said.

 The first nine people rescued were identified as four children, Gianfilippo e Ludovica Parete, Edoardo Di Carlo, Samuel Di Michelangelo, and five adults, Adriana Vranceanu, Francesca Bronzi, Vincenzo Forti, Giorgia Galassi, Giampaolo Matrone.

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