Dead found in Italian hotel hit by avalanche after quakes, reports say

A number of people were killed in a small hotel that was hit by an avalanche in the mountains of central Italy after a series of earthquakes, Italian media reported today.

Up to 30 people were believed to be in the hotel when the avalanche hit on Wednesday night, officials said.

SkyTG24 television said some dead were found inside the Hotel Rigopiano in the town of Farindola on the Gran Sasso Mountain in the central Abruzzo region.

On its website, Italian news agency Ansa quoted the head of a rescue squad that reached the hotel as saying "there are many dead."

No further details were immediately available.